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MASSES

AND THE

PLGA FORCES REPEL STATES FASCIST ONSLAUGHT THROUGH SERIES OF COUNTER-OFFENSIVES


(Reports put together from various newspaper clippings)

HE state has stepped up the repression on the Maoist revolutionaries and the people in the struggle zones, carrying out arrests and murders of Maoist leaders and cadres on a large scale on the eve of the recently concluded farce of Elections to the Parliament. By terrorizing the people and disrupting the supplies of essential commodities in the guerilla zones the ruling classes day-dreamed that they can suppress the revolutionary movement and the Maoist Party that is leading it and brow beat the rebelling masses into submission. Thousands of heavily armed para-military forces and special armed police forces of various states were deployed in all the Maoist strongholds much before the election charade started and a reign of terror was let loose, with these state forces launching mopping up operations in the interior villages of the guerilla zones terrorizing the masses in these areas. However, the PLGA forces of the Maoists and the oppressed people bravely faced these onslaughts and carried out raids and attacks on the state security forces in order to beat back these brutal attacks of the Indian state, to protect their new organs of political power and all other gains they achieved through their revolutionary struggle and in the way to equip themselves with the arms of the enemy. Deriving inspiration from the successful raid in Nayagarh, and the Chitrakonda ambush the PLGA with the active support and participation of the masses undertook counteroffensive operations on a greater scale and intensity and with better coordination and dealt heavy blows on the countrywide coordinated offensive by the Indian state. During the last six months the peoples forces wiped out over 231 security personnel and
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captured huge quantities of arms and ammunition including LMGs, 2" mortars, AK47 and INSAS riffles. Unlike what the government and media make out, these actions are no terrorist acts but the defensive action of the oppressed of this country that have faced generations of state violence both direct and indirect. The police, para-military and army routinely use violence against the oppressed and their struggles. The system regularly utilizes indirect forms of violence against the poverty stricken masses leading to lakhs of starvation deaths, suicide deaths, deaths from sickness, etc not to mention the daily, nay hourly, patriarchal and casteist violence against women and dalits!!!. It is against all this that the Maoists are leading the masses in a struggle for a just new order, and the armed actions of the peoples armed forces is part of that historic struggle for a just society. Here are some reports from various guerilla zones. Reports of repression and resistance from Dandakaranya During the Assembly elections in Chattisgarh last November, people of Dandakaranya led by the CPI (Maoist) organized a massive election boycott campaign notwithstanding the deployment of a huge number of central forces that was three times the number deployed in the preceding elections. Over 50,000 police and central para-military forces were deployed in the six districts of Bastar range alone thereby transforming the entire region into a police camp. Hundreds of adivasis were abducted and tortured and dozens of them were killed in so-called encounters. By creating such an atmosphere of terror the fascist BJPs Raman Singh
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government in the state dreamt that people could be coerced and intimidated into casting their votes in the election. This terror tactic of Raman Singh, however, failed to bring the people to the polling booths. As reported in the April issue of our Peoples Truth, people enthusiastically participated in the boycott campaign, and in scores of booths not a single vote was polled. There was no electioneering by any political party in several hundred villages. Cases of bogus voting by the election officials and the CRPF officials accompanying them, who did not even go to the polling centers, had become publicized and re-polling had to be ordered at several places. In one village of Gougonda re-polling was held for the third time and, in spite of the deployment of over a 1000 policeman, only 10 out of the 711 voters cast their votes (See the detailed report in our April issue). Thus Raman Singhs BJP government in the state, backed by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, completely failed to cow down the revolutionary masses of Dandakaranya. After coming to power in the mostrigged election ever in Chattisgarh, Raman Singh stepped up his fascist suppression campaign, arresting, torturing and murdering adivasis suspected of being active or sympathetic to the Maoist movement. On January 8, it enacted what could perhaps be called the biggest ever fake encounter in the history of the revolutionary movement after the Naxalbari upsurge. It murdered 18 adivasis after abducting them from four villages falling under Gollapalli PS in South Bastar. The fake encounter stood thoroughly exposed before the people of the country but the Congress

Home Minister at the Centre, Chidambaram, only talked of more fascist measures against the Maoists and patted the BJP government in Chattisgarh for its commendable job. Of the 18 adivasi comrades who were murdered in the so-called encounter near Singaram village five were from Korraas Gudem: comrades Maadvi Idmaal, Maadvi Kanna, Maadvi Bheema, Yemla Admaal, Madakam Deve; eight were from Chenchem(Dantheshwari Puram): comrades Veko Bandi, Veko Joga, Maadvi Deva, Madakam Idmaal, Yemla Sukkaal, Muchchaaki Ganga, Veko Pojja, Muchchaaki Doole; four were from Singaaram: comrades Madakam Raaju, Madakam Seethe, Kaaram Lachcha and Kaaram Muththa; and one comrade named Vetti Aduma was from Mylasoor village. These four villages come under Singaram Janathana Sarkar. These villages played a historic role in defeating successive brutal attacks by the states mercenary forces like the STF, CRPF, AP Greyhounds etc, as well as by counter-revolutionary gangs of Salwa Judum from mid-2005. Comrade Madakam Seethe was one of the leaders of the village RPC and played a prominent role in the movement. Most of these martyr comrades were active in the peoples struggles and bravely confronted statesponsored terrorism of Salwa Judum. Fascist Raman Singh government mobilized a huge contingent of STF, CRPF and hundreds of Salwa Judum gangsters from 3 Tehsils i.e., from more than 10 Salwa Judum camps, and attacked these four villages, arrested around 40 people, tied their hands and took them to a rivulet near Singaram. All of them were cruelly tortured, four wome n were gang raped, and finally shot dead 18 of them and took away three others who were missing since then. A few managed to escape and narrated the gory details of the massacre.
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Again on 24th of January police, CRPF and SPOs attacked Dondem Paara, near Thakilod village in Indravathy Area and murdered five militia comrades. Two of the martyr comrades, Yenugu Odi and Sakru Lekam, were from Dunga village; two were from Gottum village (comrades Madkaam Raaju and Podiyam Manku); and one comrade, Madkaam Neelu, was from Javu Gunda village. A day prior to this, on the 23rd of January, comrade Mallu Podiyam from Kunjam Paara, a tola of Belnar village, was murdered by the police. In North & East Bastar, police shot dead several local activists and people, caused injuries to many and are continuously intensifying their suppression campaign in the past two months. In Thoynaar of East Bastar police-SPOs-Salwa Judum gangs fired on the peoples militia in which four members were injured. In one of the most daring attacks by PLGA guerrillas on the mercenary police forces in Maharashtra, 15 policemen including a sub-inspector were killed in the jungles of Markegaon village in Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli district, around 300 km from Nagpur, on the morning of February 1. After the successful ambush the Maoists retreated without any loss on their side. Markegaon is close to the Gyrapatti-Sawargaon road and around eight km from the Gyarapatti Katgul police outpost, which is along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. A number of cops took bullet injuries. A sources in Gadchiroli police said, The police party was heading towards Markegaon, some 45 km from Dhanora, to investigate into the January 30 arson committed by the Maoists, when the rebels attacked them. The police party was ambushed in such a manner that all the members, including head PSI Gudgekar, were killed on spot. The ambush took place at around 11.15 am. When a relief party reached
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the area to rescue the first team, it, too, was attacked, preventing immediate reinforcement. The police party had left to investigate the arson attack and also to mop up the villagers for a Jan Jagaran Milava [public awareness meeting] a Maharashtra variant of the notorious Salwa Judum of Chattisgarh - when they were ambushed in the dense forest. According to reports, the guerrillas had set up two ambushes for the cops. The first one at Kosmi let the unsuspecting police party pass to be engaged at Markegaon by the second ambush. The first one was activated when reinforcements were going in to help the first party thus preventing help from reaching the surrounded cops. The police, who were armed with eight AK 47s, two INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System), six self-loading rifles, one two-inch mortar and one pistol, retaliated, and the battle lasted for over an hour, in which a subinspector and 14 constables lost their lives. After the attack, the guerrillas seized eight self-loading and INSAS rifles, six AK-47 rifles and one twoinch mortar launcher. The guerilla attack comes in the wake of a series of police raids on villages known to be sympathetic to the Maoist movement, arrests of several people who supported the revolutionary movement, fake encounter killings of innocent adivasis and continuous harassment of the people in Gadchiroli district. Just a week prior to the attack 15 Maoist sympathizers were arrested by the Anti-Naxal Squad in Ettapalli taluka in Gadchiroli district. Interestingly, a camera cell phone seized from one of the dead constables in Markegaon showed the photograph of comrade Mynabai who was abducted by the police in May 2008. 52-year-old Mynabai was a popular leader from Kosimi village of Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli district. The district police and the Congress government

in Maharashtra time and again told lies that comrade Mynabai had died of heart attack. People knew that she was taken to Gyarapatti PS and kept there for some days, gang-raped by the policemen and eventually murdered. The photograph from the cell phone of one Amar Chouse reveals that comrade Mynabai was in a pathetic condition in police custody at least on May 22 when the photograph was taken. Soon after the ambush in Markegaon in Maharastra, Home Minister Chidambaram rushed in 3000 central forces to Gadchiroli to assist the local police and C-60 commandos in carrying out the suppression campaign christened as Operation Parikram. The goal of this operation was to create an atmosphere of terror by enacting mass rape of adivasi women and murders of youth. At least ten women have been raped by the CRPF, C-60 commandos and local police forces in the months of February-March. In Pavarvel village five policemen gang raped a woman and later threw her into jail saying she was a Maoist guerrilla. She was threatened not to open her mouth. In the first week of March an adivasi youth by name Sukku was arrested from Goddalvai in Dhanora tehsil in Gadchiroli and murdered in cold blood. These Indian offsprings of Nazi Hitler later declared that a Maoist commander Sukku was killed in a fierce encounter between the police and the PLGA which lasted for over an hour and a half. Sukku was an ordinary adivasi living in his village. In the meeting of the Chief Ministers of four states of Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, which took place in Delhi immediately following the Markegaon ambush, a plan for conducting joint operations by Maharshtra and Chattisgarh was drawn up. Under this plan thousands of police and central forces were sent to Rajnandgaon and
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Kanker districts of Chattisgarh. Huge contingents of police and central forces were deployed and new police camps were set up in several villages in Rajnandgaon district such as Panabaras, Vasidi, Khadgaon, Kandadi, Seethagaon etc falling under Mohalla-Manpur area, and in Kapsi village in Kanker district. These mercenary forces roam the villages, threaten people and loot chicken and food from the people, rape or behave vulgarly with women and create an atmosphere of terror. Faced with this counterrevolutionary terrorist campaign by the reactionary ruling classes, the PLGA led by the CPI (Maoist) has carried out heroic resistance by mobilizing the revolutionary masses against the enemy forces. On March 24, a police force comprising of 80 men led by the ASP of Narayanpur was proceeding towards Sonepur village in Maad division with the aim of creating terror in the mela (village festival) that was taking place in that village. Brave warriors of PLGA attacked the police force near the village of Baasing killing one policeman on the spot (some reports put the dead at two). Two other policemen, including one SPO, were critically injured. Panic-struck, the police did not dare to proceed further and ran back to Narayanpur. The people were happy that the PLGAs ambush had pushed back the police and facilitated the successful conduct of the mela in Sonepur. On April 3, an action team of PLGA carried out a daring attack and shot dead Channuram Karma, a criminal Congress leader and nephew of the notorious Salwa Judum leader Mahendra Karma, at a railway crossing near Katiyararas, barely 3 km from Dantewara, the district headquarter. Channuram was the sarpanch of Faraspal village and was considered to be the right hand man of Mahendra Karma. He was involved in every cruel
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attack carried out by the police and Salwa Judum goons on the people of West Bastar and was associated with every atrocity perpetrated by Mahendra Karma through his terrorist campaign called Salwa Judum. He was provided security with five policemen and moved very stealthily. But the PLGA, with the support of the people, tracked him down and annihilated him thus fulfilling a long-cherished aspiration of the people. On April 6, PLGA guerrillas carried out a daring attack on C-60 commandos near Muginer village in Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra. In the exchange of fire that lasted for an hour and a half, three C-60 commandos were annihilated and seven others were injured. On April 7, a land-mine exploded by PLGA guerrillas just 2km from Bijapur, the district HQ in West Bastar, ripped apart a bullet-proof vehicle. Two policemen were killed on the spot and four others were severely injured. The target of the guerrillas was the district SP, Ankit Garg, who was proceeding from Bijapur to Bhopalapatnam escorted by two vehicles filled with policemen. His vehicle narrowly missed the mine as the vehicle behind came under the mine and was blown up. Two months after the ambush in Markegaon, Maoist PLGA guerrillas carried out another daring attack on a combined group of elite C-60 commandos and Special Action Group (SAG) on April 6. The exchange of fire which lasted for three hours in the hilly terrain of Mungner village in Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli district left three commandos dead. Several more commandos were seriously injured and were battling for their lives. The police force, which was led by Commander Munna Singh Thakur, had left Gadchiroli on April 5 on a patrolling operation. Thakur, who was involved in killing Maoist commander comrade Chikku in the Operation Parakram, was

also hurt in the encounter. Police admit Maoists had gained a psychological advantage after they had killed 15 cops in Markegaon on February 1st. Thereafter, they have kept up the tempo striking at targets dodging government security forces at various places. Until April 6, 46 attacks by Maoist guerrillas were recorded in the four Maharashtra districts this year. In 2008, the number until the end of April was just 24. The number of police informers eliminated this year was 16 which is three times more than what it was in the corresponding period last year. Besides Markegaon, in October 2008 four policemen were killed by the guerillas at Korepalli. Police also admit Maoists have been fast gaining the support from the local villagers following the highly successful Markegaon ambush. In fact, the ambush itself could become successful due to the support from the people. At least 11 CRPF personnel, including a Deputy Commandant and a Sub-Inspector, were killed in a major tactical offensive carried out by Maoist guerrillas on April 10 near Minta village under Chintagufa PS in Dantewada district of Chattisgarh. While nine died on the spot another two succumbed to injuries the next day. Another eleven CRPF personnel, including an Assistant Commandant, were injured and were airlifted to Raipur hospital. All the dead and injured personnel belonged to the 55th Battalion of the CRPF. The daring ambush by PLGA guerrillas took place in the afternoon at around 1 PM when the central forces accompanied by local police were returning in two batches of 50-60 members each after carrying out combing operations in the Kotampalli forest. These combing operations were a part of the terror campaign unleashed by Raman SinghVishwaranjans police in the name of Operation Area Domination. The exchange of fire went on for about two hours.
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Seven policemen including an SI and jawan of CRPF were wiped out by Maoist guerillas near Vinjaram base camp in Dantewada district of Chattisgarh. Five of them were Special Police Officers (SPOs). Another three SPOs were injured in the ambush. The police batch had gone on a tractor trolley from Vinjaram base camp near Konta to Bejji PS which is 20 km away to deliver rations. After delivering the rations they were returning to Vinjaram when their tractor was hit by a landmine triggered by Maoist guerrillas 3 km before Vinjaram. Guerrillas seized five rifles and ammunition from the dead policemen. As a general rule, the CRPF and policemen avoid using vehicles in the areas of Maoist influence. On May 6 too they had walked for 15 km but as they were too tired boarded the tractor when they were just 5 km from their base camp. On May 7, guerrillas annihilated Abdul Wahid Khan, a notorious Police Inspector of Farasgaon, some 20 km from the district HQ of Narayanpur, when he went to the weekly market. The daring attack which took place in the centre of the market and a few yards from the CRPF camp created panic among the police personnel of Farasgaon while at the same time enthusing the masses in and around the police station area. One hour after the annihilation of the SPOs and police agents on May 9, Maoists made a daring attack on Farsegadh PS in Bijapur district. The exchange of fire took place for several hours. 16 policemen were said to have gone missing after the attack. Maoist guerillas ambushed a police party on 21st May after luring it into the jungles of Gadchiroli district, killing 16 cops. The Maoists had called for a two-day bandh beginning 20th in Bhandara, Gondia, Gadchiroli and Dandakaranya against the reign of terror unleashed against the revolutionary masses during the
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recently held parliamentary elections. The bandh evoked a warm response in all these areas and as a part of the bandh the people had blocked several roads. A 16 member police party headed by inspector Aiyyar went to the hills of Hatti tola in two jeeps on getting information about the presence of PLGA guerillas. As the police party reached the spot at about 3.30 pm guerillas waiting in ambush opened fire apart from exploding land mines. A gun battle raged for about three hours. But in the end all the 16 cops including one inspector and sub-inspector were killed. The PLGA fighters then set the police jeeps on fire and seized all the weapons of the police which include AK47s and SLRs. All the PLGA fighters retreated safely. 12 CRPF jawans were killed and 12 others were severely wounded on 19th June when the PLGA forces blasted a landmine under a private truck in which 40 CRPF men were traveling. The incident occurred near Tongapal village in Dantewada district of Chattisgarh. Additional CRP forces that rushed there to rescue their colleagues and carry on combing operations have, in a brutal act of revenge picked up seven innocent villagers from the vicinity and shot them dead, claiming later that they killed seven Maoists in the exchange of fire that fallowed the blast. Besides these major actions there have been scores of smaller actions of harassment of the security forces, injuring many, snatching their weapons, and creating much panic in these mercenaries. In all these the people and their militia have played a specifically commendable role. Reports from BiharJharkhand Zone In the biggest strike so far this year in Bihar, Maoist guerrillas wiped out ten policemen, injured three others and seized several weapons at a village in Nawada district on February 9. Over 200 armed guerrillas of the PLGA

attacked a police team comprising district armed police, Special Auxiliary Police and Bihar Military Police personnel sent to Mahuliatand village to provide security at a function organized on the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti. Four jawans each from SAP and BMP, sub-inspector of Kauakaul police station Rameshwar Ram and assistant sub-inspector I D Singh were killed on the spot in the attack. The Maoists took away 15 weapons, including five INSAS rifles, five SLRs, two AK-47s, one carbine and two revolvers of .38 bore besides 1,250 round cartridges and 45 magazines. According to an eyewitness: Ram was asked on the public address system to come on to the dais and garland Sant Ravidass portrait. No sooner did Ram come back from the dais to take his seat in the front row of audience than bombs started exploding here and there. Eyewitnesses add that the attack was mostly carried out by unarmed women who simply surrounded the cops and pinned them down before snatching their guns and shooting them with their own weapons. The operation lasted barely ten minutes. A point worth noting is that the guerillas killed the policemen in a crowd of around 600 without a single civilian causality. Villagers asserted that it was a deliberate reaction against false government propaganda and also a revenge for police lies about the Roh incident of January 16, and the Labnimarai fake encounter of May 14, 2008 in which six Maoists were killed. A landmine blast was triggered by PLGA guerrillas near Magra village under Dumaria police station area of Gaya district of Bihar, on February 12 when a police patrol vehicle was passing through the area in the afternoon. However all six personnel in the police vehicle, including five members of the SAP, managed to escape. The police vehicle suffered heavy damage. As soon as news of the abduction
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of comrade Ashutosh, a member of the CMC and CC, CPI(Maoist), on February 25 reached the Party cadre, PLGA fighters and the people, a massive wave of protests swept the four states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa, where comrade Ashutosh was looking after military affairs. A 24-hour bandh was called in the four states on February 28. Comrade Ashutosh was abducted by the Jharkhand police on February 25 when he was moving in a vehicle along with some other comrades from Rourkela. Following are reports of resistance by PLGA as part of the 24hour bandh on Feb 28. In the early hours of February 28, the guerrillas struck at two railway stations in Sundergarh district of Orissa, blowing up the main office and signal control room of the Bhalulata station and Chandiposh station. On 28th night the guerrillas torched Ratanpur railway station in Munger district. Soon after they blasted railway tracks at Bhalui halt between Kiul and Jhajha on the Howrah-Delhi mainline around 2 am, disrupting rail traffic badly for hours. The attacks took place towards the end of the 24-hour bandh call given by Maoists in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal to protest arrest of comrades Ashutosh, Bihari, central military instructor Sujoy and three others. Armed guerillas asked all the railway employees as well as the passengers to leave the railway station before setting it on fire. Following the attack, train services on Kiul-Bhagalpur section was badly affected. Five CRPF jawans were wiped out and another three injured by the PLGA guerrillas in a meticulously executed ambush in Khunti on April 11. The ambush took place at around the same time when Congress president Sonia Gandhi was addressing a meeting in the same district in what was her first election rally in Jharkhand. The ambush took place inside Jalko forests
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of Khunti district under the Arki police station. The exchange of fire went on for three hours from around 9.30 AM to 12.30. *** In the early hours of April 15, guerrillas struck in Barhania Ghati in the hilly tracts of Barwadih in Laterhar district. More than 80 CRPF personnel escorting on foot two buses headed for Barwadih fully laden with election material. The PLGA guerrillas who were waiting in ambush attacked the paramilitary personnel by triggering a land mine that blew off the bonnet of one of the buses. In the exchange of fire that followed, CRPF jawan Dharmendra Yadav was killed. Seven seriously-injured CRPF personnel were airlifted to Ranchi. The CRPF claimed that Maoists had lost five of their comrades and that seven more Naxalites had been injured. It turned out that there were no casualties on the side of the Maoists and the five who were said to have been Maoists were innocent villagers of Barhania who were caught and murdered by the brave CRPF men. *** A home guard and police personnel on poll duty were shot dead and another injured by Maoist guerrillas in Singhpur village under Banke Bazaar police station in Gaya district. Two other police personnel were missing. *** As soon as the polling began in Jharkhand, Maoist guerrillas struck at a BSF bus in Latehar district on April 16 in which six BSF personnel and two civilians were killed. The bus ferrying the BSF personnel from Ladhup to Arah was blown by the landmine blast triggered by the Maoists at around 7.30 am in Vhadwa PS area killing six BSF personnel, one helper and the civilian driver. The total number of casualties of the BSF was later put at ten. The incident took place near Chandwa at Hesla village. Among a dozen injured jawans, three sustained severe injuries. The BSF personnel were returning after patrolling. rescue operation. After the landmine blast,

Maoists opened fire on the bus, triggering a gun battle between them and the BSF jawans. *** A BSF jawan was killed and three others injured when guerillas detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in Latehar district of Jharkhand on April 16. The BSF personnel were returning to the district headquarters at Latehar, 125 kms from Ranchi, with electronic voting machines when the incident took place on April 16 evening. As the jawans reached a secluded area close to Kone village, the guerrillas triggered the explosion, killed one jawan on the spot and injured three others. The polling personnel carrying EVM machines escaped unhurt. Soon after the explosion, a pitched gun battle ensued between the guerillas and the BSF jawans, which continued for the next three hours. Later on, the guerrillas retreated deeper into the forests. On April 15 Maoist guerillas triggered a landmine to blow up a bus carrying ration meant for central paramilitary forces on poll duty in Latehar district killing two CRPF men and at least six others. The blast occurred at 6.15am, 24 hours before the first phase of voting on April 16, as the private bus carrying luggage and ration of a CRPF company was going up a hilly terrain on the BarwadihMandal road passing through Barhaniya forests in Latehar, around 200 km from the state capital. Soon after the blast, the guerrillas resorted to firing on the CRPF jawans. Eight CRPF men were injured and all were airlifted to Ranchi. Among them, Mahipal Singh, a sub-inspector, died on way. When CRPF jawans claimed that at least five Naxalites had been killed in the encounter, DIG (Palamu) Nandu Prasad repeated it. But later, following massive protests from the people and the Maoists, Zonal IG Dumdum admitted that the dead were villagers.
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After this admission by IG the government was compelled to transfer DIG Nandu Prasad and file cases against the CRPF personnel for killing the villagers. Those who were murdered by the CRPF were Sanjay Bodra (20), Supay Bodra (45), Budhan Bodra (40), Massey Bodra (16) and Pitai Mundu (35). They were peasants and laborers in the village. CRPF personnel dragged them out of a nearby trench where they were hiding while the encounter was going on and killed them in a fit of rage, said Supas Bodra, father of Massey. In the second phase of polling to the Lok Sabha elections on April 23 Maoist guerrillas triggered a landmine blast in North Bihar killing five policemen, including a sub-inspector, two home guard jawans, a district armed police (DAP) constable and a civilian. The ambush took place near Karpoori Chowk in Mohabbatpur village under Deoria police station of Muzaffarpur district on 23rd evening. One civilian driver also sustained serious injuries in the blast. The place of occurrence falls under Vaishali parliamentary constituency. The incident occurred when the police and poll personnel were returning by a jeep through the remote Naxal area to deposit EVMs and other poll related documents in the strong room of Vaishali parliamentary constituency around 7.30 pm. The Maoists had placed landmines at the edge of a culvert knowing fully well that the polling party would return only through this route. According to police sources, the polling party was about to cross the culvert when a huge blast occurred, killing the five persons on the spot. The jeep was blown to pieces and rifles of the home guard jawans and DAP also got damaged in the blast. On April 15, after guerrillas belonging to CPI (Maoist) triggered a landmine blast in Barhania forest in
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Latehar killing two CRPF personnel, the CRPF went on a killing spree. They abducted five villagers in Barhania village in Barwa Dih block in Latehar district and murdered them in cold blood. DIG of CRPF Alok Raj claimed that his men had heroically fought and killed five Maoist guerrillas in their retaliatory fire. Those killed in the firing were five tribals. Following the fake encounter the CPI (Maoist) organized massive protests throughout the state demanding a judicial enquiry and punishment to the officials involved in the murder and compensation to those killed by the police. It was as part of these protests that a passenger train bound for Mughal Sarai was held up for a few hours by more than 500 people organized by the Maoists at Hehegarha station on April 22. A 24-hour bandh was observed in Bihar and Jharkhand on April 22. The Maoists triggered a blast at Utari-road railway station in Palamu on April 22 as part of the Jharkhand-Bihar bandh. They also bombed a block development office in Aurangabad district on April 22 and set ablaze eight trucks in neighboring Gaya during the bandh. In Palamu, Latehar and Garhwa districts the bandh was observed for three days from 22nd April. Earlier, Inspector-general of police Rezi Dungdung, tried to rule out a fake encounter as causing the death of the five villagers in Barhania. However, he was compelled to admit that they were not Maoists but tried to describe their deaths as resulting from landmine explosions by the Maoists. They werent Naxalites. Nor did they have any rebel links. The extremists forced them to accompany them at 5.30 am to trigger the landmines, he said. He said there was no reason to doubt the post-mortem report which claimed that four of the villagers were killed in a landmine blast while one sustained bullet injuries from a distance. The Palamu Commissioner AK

Pandey along with his subordinates - a block development officer and secretary to the Commissioner began the inquiry on May 2. He recorded the statements of the family members of the five tribals who were killed by CRPF jawans after two of their colleagues were killed in a landmine blast triggered by the Maoists. AK Pandey was asked to complete the probe and submit the report within a week. Members of the Barhania Hatya Karan Virodhi Sangarsh Morcha, an organization formed after the killing of the villagers, staged a demonstration when the Commissioner toured Barhania village. They also handed over a memorandum to the Commissioner demanding compensation and government jobs to the kin of the deceased. Villagers who met Pandey said that on April 15 at around 6.30 in the morning they heard a big explosion in nearby forest and later sounds of firing. When the firing stopped two CRPF jawans came to the village and picked up five villagers who were working in their homes. Later within five minutes the five were shot dead by the CRPF. But the dead bodies were handed over to their families only after three days. Overall, it has been an achievement for the peoples forces since it was perhaps the first time in years that the police officials had to admit that there was an fake encounter and top officials were removed on account of fake encounter. In the early hours of April 15, one day preceding the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, Maoist guerrillas attacked a BSF camp located in Kaimur range in Rohtas district. Guerrillas had surrounded a government school at a village in Dhansa valley where a company of BSF jawans was being put up to provide security to 30 polling booths in Chainpur and Chenari segments of Sasaram Lok Sabha constituency, where the CPI(Maoist) had called for
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a poll boycott. Around 1am on April 15, the guerrillas fired grenades at the school partly razing it to the ground. The village (in which the school is located) is 20km south of Sasaram-Rohtas district headquarters and is bordered by Palamu (Jharkhand) on one side and Uttar Pradesh on the other. Maoist rebels attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp and blew up a railway station in Jharkhand a few hours before the second phase parliamentary poll began on April 23, police said. In West Singhbhum district, Maoist rebels attacked a CRPF camp early on the 23rd. The guerrillas blew up the Chiyanki railway station in Palamu district late on Wednesday. They also bombed the outer cabin of the railway station. Police said the Maoist rebels also triggered an explosion on the road between Giridih and Dumri and cut trees to block it early on Thursday. In first phase of polling April 16, nine people, including six Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, were killed in Maoist attacks in Jharkhand. The general strike called by CPI (Maoist) was the principal reason for the acute shortage of power in the state according to the chairman of the Jharkhand Electricity Board, HB Lal. He said that coal could not be transported to various thermal power plants in the state due to the strikes called by Maoists. Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Limited (TVNL) had to shut down a major part of its production due to shortage of coal supply. While it was earlier producing 380 MW of power now production has come down to 160 MW due to coal shortage. TVNL is the main source of electricity in Jharkhand. The JSEB gets electricity from the TVNL. On April 14th, the TVNL had a coal reserve of 3000 MT. The transportation of coal was affected due to the Maoists sponsored bandh in Jharkhand. There was production of 150 MW from
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single unit of TVNL as other unit was closed due to the shortage of coal. TVNL sources said that the proposed State-level bandh of the CPI- Maoists on April 16 to boycott the poll will affect the transportation of coal in the Maoist dominated districts. So far the TVNL is able to produce 150 MW of electricity instead of 400-420 MW, an official said. On June 9th the PLGA forces attacked an armed police patrolling party in Aurangabad district of Bihar killing one and injuring many other cops. Ten security personnel including two sub-inspectors of Jharkhands Naxal control force and an inspector of CRPFs F7 Battalion were killed in a powerful landmine blast triggered by the PLGA forces of the CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhands west Singhbhum district on June 10, 2009. The incident took place in Serngda village under Golikera police station, around 200 km southwest from state capital Ranchi, when a joint team of CRPF and local police was returning in a mini truck after a two-day long range patrolling in the Maoist strong hold of Saranda forest. The police say that there was heavy exchange of fire from both sides. Two injured jawans were airlifted and rushed to a nearby hospital. The media reports indicate that the security team was traveling in a convoy of six vehicles and that the blast most impacted the second vehicle of the convoy and all occupants died. On June 11, 2009, women guerillas of the Maoist PLGA forces in denim jeans and T-shirts led an attack on police team in a busy market in Indias coal hub of Dhanbad, in Jharkhand and then other batch of the guerillas bombed a mine-proof vehicle rushing in with reinforcements, killing 11 policemen in all. It was the second major attack by the Maoists in three days in Jharkhand. According to media reports, acting according to a well laid out plan, at first, a 60 member Maoist team

commanded by a woman stunned a police team heading out after depositing money at a State bank of India branch in the busy market of Phusro town, 130 km northeast of Ranchi, close to the Bokaro Steel Plant. They surrounded the police, stabbed and gunned down two policemen and then retreated in to nearby jungles with police guns, 3 INSAS riffles and one SLR, thus setting a trap to the security forces to pursue them. Falling to the trap police reinforcements were rushed in. The guerillas waiting in ambush had already planted a land-mine under a culvert seven kms outside the town, near Sadubeda village. It was set off when an anti-mine vehicle of the states Special Armed Police passed by and was hurled high in the air. Nine policemen died on the spot. Four policemen were killed and two others seriously injured when the PLGA forces ambushed them at Beherakhand in Palamu district. The security forces were on a long-range patrolling, when the guerillas attacked them near a village in Manatu area. A day after the PLGA forces ambushed two police teams in Jharkhand blowing up a mine-proof vehicle, killing 10 policemen and injuring another 8, they detonated a landmine near Rania in Khunti district, about 80km from Ranchi on 20th June killing one and injuring 10 cops, five of them critically. The incident, third in the last four days, took place when the Jharkhand Armed Police were returning to Rania police camp. On June 14th the PLGA guerillas ambushed a police team on long range patrolling in Palamu district killing four and injuring 8 other cops. In just the three months from April to June 2009 the PLGA is reported to have killed over 50 security forces in the Bihar-Jharkhand region and injured an equal number.

Reports from AndhraOrissa Border Zone The villagers of Lingagada of G.Udaygiri block in Kandhamal district of Orissa, gheraoed the members of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp at the village and blocked the road passing through it for several hours on Friday. The villagers became furious following manhandling of a local by a CRPF jawan. The villagers demanded the removal of CRPF camp from the area charging that the CRPF personnel were involved in similar heinous activities. The villagers were pacified only after a team of police and administrative officials led by Baliguda sub-Collector, R.V. Krishnan and SubDivisional Police Officer (SDPO), Sudha Singh, reached the spot and held discussions. The pacified villagers lifted the road blockade. It may be noted that tension had mounted at Paburia village under Sarangagada police station in Kandhamal district on Feb. 1 when some Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans deployed in the area beat up two innocent youths. The angry villagers got pacified when the CRPF personnel apologized for their misdeed. On Friday 60 persons who had returned back from G.Udaygiri relief camp to their village Dakeri were not allowed to enter their village. The tribals of the village opposed the entry of CRPF personnel into the village along with the returnees from relief camp. The villagers said they would not allow CRPF personnel camp in their village. Thirteen jawans of Orissas elite Special Operation Group (SOG) were injured in a landmine blast triggered by PLGA guerrillas near Adaba in Gajapati district of south Orissa on the morning of February 16. Two seriously injured jawans were airlifted by helicopter to the MKCG Medical College in Berhampur for treatment. The incident occurred when the policemen were on their way to
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Katama village under Adaba police station of Mohana block. The guerillas had planted the landmine under a culvert at Andhari Ghati, about 4 km from Adaba. The commandos were travelling by a minibus on the AdabaPaniganda road. The police force had organized a health camp at the Katama village as part of their attempt to win over the villagers, convert at least a few of them into police informers and wean the people away from the Maoist movement. The guerrillas first allowed the bikes carrying policemen to pass through the culvert unscathed before targeting the minibus carrying the SOG jawans. But the jawans were lucky as the minibus missed the blast by a fraction of a second. But the blast was so huge that a large portion of the culvert got ripped off and fell on the roof of the minibus injuring the jawans. Bandh call given by Maoists was observed successfully in Malkangiri district on Saturday. On the previous night one commando of the Special Operation Group (SOG) was also seriously injured in a landmine blast triggered by Maoist guerillas near MV66 village in the district. Maoists put up posters and banners explaining that the bandh call was given in protest against the killing of three Maoists in an encounter with Andhra police at Paparmetla in Malkangiri district last month. The Maoists said the victims of the fake encounter were innocents. The impact of bandh was more evident in Kalimela and Motu police station areas of the district. The vehicular traffic between Malkangiri town and Kalimela came to a standstill. No vehicles came out on roads in Kalimela and Motu police station areas. The SOG jawan injured in the landmine blast was airlifted to Visakhapatnam from Kalimela for treatment. A team of SOG jawans had faced the blast of the landmine at around 1 am while they were patrolling

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near the MV 66 village under Kalimela police station on Friday night. SOG Jawan Maheswar Behera was seriously injured when a splinter of the landmine hit his thigh. The PLGA forces razed a police outpost, a government building and damaged a BSNL communication tower at Padia in Malkangiri district in the wee hours of Wednesday. The guerrillas did not use any explosives for the damage at Padia. They seized a bulldozer kept in nearby area for the work of Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and used it to pull down the police outpost. Then they set ablaze the battery room of the BSNL tower at the place. In another development more than 1,000 members of Chasi Mulia Samity, a revolutionary mass organization, held demonstration in front of the Kalimela block office calling for the boycott of polls. They also handed over a memorandum to the Kalimela Block Development Officer (BDO) in which they also mentioned that they would boycott the polls as the government had failed to fulfill their demands. Before leaving the place, the Maoists put up posters asking people of the area to boycott the coming polls. The posters also warned the political activists to refrain from campaigning or face the consequences. At least 11 CISF jawans died in a daring attack by Maoist guerrillas on a well-guarded armory and bauxite mine of NALCO in Orissas Koraput district on April 12. The bauxite mines, the biggest in Asia, are located in Damanjodi. Eleven CISF jawans posted at hilltop mines in Damanjodi were killed and 15 others injured in the gun battle that continued for over five hours after the ultras struck last night, Director General of Police M M Praharaj said. According to reports, over 200 guerillas, including several women cadre, formed different groups and seized the CISF armory in the mining area and took away around 16 rifles including some light machine guns
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and a truck load of explosives. The well planned attack took place shortly after 9.30 pm on April 12. Nine security personnel and a civilian were killed in a landmine blast triggered by the PLGA forces in Orissas Koraput district on 17th June, 2009. Eight of those killed belonged to the Orissa Special Security Forces (OSSF), which has been specially created by the state government by drafting ex-servicemen, while the ninth, the driver of the jeep, was Orissa State Armed Police (OSAP) personnel. A civilian, who happened to be on the spot, also died. The troops were on their way to assist Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force personnel clear a major district road that the people blocked by felling trees. About 500metres short of the road block a powerful landmine blew up the OSSF jeep as it crossed a culvert, killing all its occupants. Reports from BengalJharkhand-Orissa Border Zone A team of 10 armed guerillas fired at four jawans of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Barabhum railway station, 25 km from Purulia town in Adra division of South Eastern Railway, in the last week of February. Constables SR Majhi and Mohammed Ansari died at Bokaro hospital following the attack. Two others were injured and admitted to hospital. The four jawans were on their way to Adra and were boarding the 3302 Tatanagar-Dhanbad Subarnarekha Express when Maoists fired at them in broad daylight at 2.20 pm. The guerrillas took away all the arms and ammunitions from the RPF personnel. In the early hours of March 29, the PLGA guerillas blew up two forest beat houses and attacked a range office in the Simplipal reserve forest area of Mayurbhanj district. This is the first such attack on a tourist destination in Orissa, though no casualty has been reported. More than a dozen guerrillas attacked the Barahakamuda beat
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house around 1am and blew it up using explosives. Later, they blasted Dhudruchampa beat house, some 10km from Barahakamuda. After the twin blasts, the guerrillas gheraoed the Chahala range office, another few kilometers away. They destroyed the building and torched three forest department vehicles, including a jeep. The entire operation, according to the police, was completed in three hours. Two jawans of the central forces were injured at Biramdih polling booth in Purulia district in West Bengal when Maoist guerrillas triggered a landmine blast during the third phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections on April 30. The blast took place at around 7.50 in the morning when the paramilitary force was patrolling the area. Polling was suspended at the Biram Dih booth following the blast. Around 25 tribals with bows and arrows snatched the firearms of four policemen and tied them up in a West Midnapore village on May 2nd. The tribals released the cops around midnight after an assurance from the police that they would not enter the area. Earlier, when a team went to rescue assistant sub-inspector Asoke Kumar Kora and three constables, they were chased away. Priya Tudu of the Bharat Jakat Majhi Marwa said: We are boycotting the police in the village. The police knew they should not enter the area after 5pm. We did not misbehave with them, just took away their revolvers. We also chased away a reinforcement team as the person leading it threatened to shoot at us. Police sources said that around 6.30pm when the four policemen reached Sirshi in Binpur block on motorcycles, the villagers surrounded them and told them they should not have come. The villagers took away the revolvers and tied the cops up with ropes. When their colleagues in Binpur police station, 15km away, came to know, a rescue team of 25 was rushed there. But the villagers, now numbering

over 500, chased them away, a police officer said. Conclusion While going to the press we have been getting reports of a major military actions by the forces of the PLGA in the Manpur forests of Chhatisgarh (will be covered in the next issue). No doubt there has been a major spurt in Maoist resistance against the massive forces pressed into service by the government.
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th (August 5 ) reported: The bandh against the July 23 rd killing of ChungkhamSanjit by the MPC, saw thousands of angry protesters trying to storm the Raj Bhavan. An indefinite curfew was imposed on 4th in Imphal (capital of Manipur) as widespread violence broke out on the second day of the 48 hour bandh. 20 people were injured in clashes with police during the bandh, called by Apunba Lup, an apex body of social organizations. In Imphal East two youth were injured in a clash between hundreds of catapult wielding agitators and anti-riot police armed with rubber bullets. Police had a hard time controlling protestors across the four valley districts as strike supporters burned tyres, logs and smashed glasses on the roads. Besides burning effigies of the chief minister in various parts of Imphal, Bishnupur and Thoubal districts, they also attempted to stage a massive rally, which was however aborted by the security forces. Street battles in many parts of the state capital pitched citizens against law enforcers, with sounds of tear gas shells, rubber bullets, mock bombs and anti-government slogans saturating the air and bringing back memories of a similar protest in 2004, triggered in the wake of the

It is a slap in the face of the notorious Home Minister who has taken a personal interest in the operations against the Maoists. And as these reports come in we hear of increased contradictions within the mercenary forces between the CRPF and state forces, between the jawans and the officers and between the forces and the politicians. Besides, with consistent attacks on these forces of terror they are themselves terrorised, not knowing

from where and when they will be hit. Operating in hostile territory, hated by the masses, they are easy prey to an awakewned population. The people are no longer in a mood to tolerate the decades of atrocities, loot, exploitation and oppression. They are not falling prey to fake talks of peaceful protest put down violently. They are rising with arms in their hands. The latest revolt in Lalgarh is an omen of what is to come.

rape and murder of Manorma by the Assam Rifles. As we go to the press the demonstrations are continuing on a huge scale, in spite of the curfew now demanding the dismissal of the Chief Minister and the termination of the services of the commandos involved in the fake encounter. The Hindu (Aug.8th) reported that many more are injured in police firing and using tear gas against the demonstrators. Nine people were dragged and beaten with batons and rifle butts. Kim Gangte, a former MP, said that Manipur was passing through the darkest chapter in its history. Attempts are being made to gag the press she said. There was no need for any judicial enquiry as the photos had established that it was fake. She claimed that more than 300 people had been killed this year. Families of the victims of the fake encounter told the press that 1,000 people had been killed since 2007, most of them in fake encounters. The entire North East, and particularly Manipur, has been turned into a virtual hell on earth by the Indian occupation forces. Democracy there is at gun-point. People live under horrifying conditions of state terror. The people of Manipur are demanding their freedom from the horrors of
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Indias domination and occupation of their territories. No nation can be forcibly kept within a country when the entire populace is against it. If the people so desire it, they should be given their freedom. But the Indian expansionist rulers have whipped up a phobia against any nation that wishes to be independent. Their logic is nothing but big nation chauvinism seeking to control the entire South Asian market and sources of raw materials together with the imperialists. But, genuine democracy entails respecting the wishes of the majority of the people. All progressive, democratic and revolutionary forces in India support the just struggle of the Manipuri and other people of the North East and strongly condemn the Indian forces of occupation. The Indian people demand that these forces be forthwith withdrawn from Manipur and all the terror laws be scrapped so that the people of Manipur can live a life in peace, free from the jack-boots of the Indian rulers. The perpetrators of the fake encounter must be tried in a peoples court as no justice can be expected from the establishment. August 15, 2009 (Based on article taken from Tehelka)

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LALGARH PEOPLE FIGHT BACK THE 50 COMPANIES OF STATE TERROR FORCES & CPMS ARMED GOONS
further aggravated by the onslaught T IS NOW over one and a half of the state forces in combination with months since the para-military the CPM local ruling elite. Yet, even and State police forces entered after 45 days of terror we see that Jangalmahal on June 18th 2009, in the state forces are not able to achieve what was portrayed by the media as their said aim of destroying the a major military operation. The area peoples upsurge and crushing their was referred to as the war zone as leadership. It has been reported that though the Indian forces were the PSBJSC (Police Santrash Birodhi preparing for a war against a foreign Jansadharan Committee or Peoples country. The entire operation was Committee against Police Atrocities) given massive TV coverage, but has once again begun mass journalists have been not allowed to mobilization of the people, facing tell about the horrors being perpetrated lathi-charges, tear-gas and even on the people. True to their mercenary police firing, while not a single Maoist nature the security forces have been activist has been apprehended. In fact it is being reported that the Maoists acting as an occupation army. The military operation was a have not only stepped up their attacks Congress-CPM joint plan seeking to on the CPM goons but also spread smash the peoples upsurge and the to new area. In fact it is the 5,000 growing Maoist influence in the region, strong joint central and state forces and re-establish the rule of the CPM that are in a state of panic, fearing to terror mafia. The armed forces of the venture out beyond the main roads. state have been working in close The situation got so bad that top coordination with the informer officers are openly contradicting each network of the CPM and the various other and the lower ranks are vigilante forces set up by the CPM, threatening revolt. The masses, led by the Maoists are like the GPC (Gana Pritrodh heroically fighting back the government Committee). The question of the welfare of the masses is nowhere on onslaught. the agenda. In fact, the conditions of Conditions of the Masses the masses of the region have further The newspapers of August 4t h deteriorated due to the joint reported that a man first killed his family operations. They are polluting the and then committed suicide in the limited water sources, forcing people Jhargham region of Midnapur. The to drink the arsenic and fluoride man, Gopal Tundu, first hacked his contaminated water. They have set up wife and two young children to death their camps in the schools resulting in and then hanged himself. He had not the children not being able to take their eaten food for a week and with poor education. The peoples very limited rain his crops were withering. This is sources of earning are even further only the tip of the iceberg. reduced. With police terror on the main The bulk of the population is roads, the sick are not able to go even languishing in poverty, malnutrition and to the limited hospitals in the area. And social deprivation. About 95% of the worst, the security forces have been children between 6 and 35 months are destroying even their meager suffering from anemia. As stated by properties. RSP Member of Parliament out of the Decades of neglect are being Rs.6,700 crore programme for socioSuman

economic transformation of the western region over a period of five years (2007-11) as per the recommendations of the IIT Khargpur (which was commissioned by the Left Front government, to draw up a plan), a mere Rs.82 crores was granted by the western regional development board for 2007-09. Out of this Rs.14 crores was actually spent. And even of this most of it would have been swallowed by the CPM and the other petty power brokers in the region. In fact a team was sent to Jangalmahal by the Prime Minister in the first week of February 2009. They reported that in this area there are so many Amlasols (which received notoriety for its conditions of extreme poverty).It said that out of the 4,000 most backward villages of West Bengal,1,500 are in the three districts of Jangalmahal. The central team found that there was no facility for drinking water, electricity, and no proper implementation of NAREGA. Not even a single pucca house was built as promised for 58,000 adivasi families. But now in a bid to wean away the population from the Maoists, the CPM have suddenly begun talking of development there and even of distributing land to the adivasis as per the new forest Act. But other areas will of course continue to languish until the masses rise in revolt. On July 24 th the newspapers reported that the state government has decided to distribute large number of pattas to the tribal populace living in the jungle area under the Forest Rights Act. But the administration has failed to do so due to the strike call by the PSPBC. Senior officials said they have received 90,000 applications and they have agreed to 60,000. A major portions of the pattas were to be

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distributed in the three Maoist affected districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia. But not a word is mentioned about the huge amounts of land gifted to Jindal for his steel plant, which should have been distributed amongst the poor. Upsurge grows in spite of Massive State Terror The most novel aspect of the latest mass resistance is that of the school children against the occupation of their schools by the security forces; denying them proper education for over a month. But instead of vacating the camp these state vampires brutally lathi-charged the children, injuring many and also attacking five journalists present there. The Times of India of July 21s t reported: Gohamidanga (Dharampur area) turned into a battlefield on 20th with police lathi-charging students and guardians, leaving at least 25 persons injured. 5 journalists were not spared either. Around noon a crowd of over 15,000 tried to gherao the school. Twenty persons, including six students and 4 women were injured. When guardians tried to force the policemen out of the school, they were lathi-charged and tear gassed, injuring five more people. Villagers then met at Bhulageria, where PSBJSC meeting decided that the school would be seized through an armed movement. A class VII student said we organized a stir 10 days ago. Police and jawans had promised to leave the school in a week. We havent been able to attend classes since July 1st. DSP (Operations) Arnab Ghosh tried to reach the area with additional forces but was stranded at Dherua for over two hours as PSBJSC had dug up roads. According to journalist Chandan Raut of the Bengali daily, Dainik Statesman, I have seen a cruel, naked and barbarous act of police atrocities and I myself, along with
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other media persons also received brutal police treatment In fact the agitations against the occupation of the schools have been going on soon after the police/paramilitary occupation. On July 13th many hundred students demonstrated against the police camps and several times local people demonstrated against the occupation of the school buildings. Headmasters of the schools also protested that their permission was never taken and that the security forces took over the schools after breaking the locks. In fact one month earlier the District Magistrate of Nigam and Jhargram SDO had directed the police authorities to withdraw the camps from schools in the region. Also, a day before the above demonstration, on July 19 th, the students had given a memorandum to the joint forces demanding that they leave the institutions within 24 hours for the sake of their studies. After the brutal police action on July 22nd many hundred students, with placards demanding the withdrawal of police camps, started a relay hunger strike. Along with the students their guardians and members of the PSBJSC also joined the hunger strike which continued from July 22 to 24th. On the afternoon of July 22nd about 20,000 people from various villages started a grand procession. As reported in the Dainik Statesman (July 23 rd) one placard said: Shame, Shame Buddhababu; we want schools to study, but you are beating us, occupying the school campus is this Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan? Another Placard read: Shame, Shame Chidambaram, your adivasi development means beating us all; this is the policy of the Congress. The police are constructing eight camps in the region with brick and tin roofs and are being forced to move to these, though they prefer to stay in the relative comfort of the schools. But, besides the actions to liberate
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the schools from the occupation forces there have been large number of rallies against the joint operation forces against their atrocities and demanding them to get out of the area. August 2nd Dainik Statesman (Bengali) reported: The Janasadharan Committee held rallies in Jangalmahal to oppose the atrocities of the joint operation forces. On that very day at least six persons received bullet injuries. On July 31st itself, in the evening, the Janasadharan Committee organized processions at several places of Dharampur against this brutal unprovoked firing on the people. A big rally was held 4 Kms away from the Mahatopara police camp using mikes. In addition, roads were dug up again at Dalbamal and Brindabanpur on Aug.1st . Ever since the offensive of the state forces in the region the Maoists have adopted a judicious mix of counterviolence and militant mass action. They have been harassing the security forces through guerilla actions and a big offensive against the CPM leaders and leaders of their vigilante forces. Without these military actions of the Maoists the democratic space cannot be made to facilitate the mass movement. Without smashing the authority of the CPM lords and their henchmen the masses would be under continuous attack by their armed gangs and even mass actions would not be tolerated by the CPM goons. Besides, these CPM elements act as the eyes and ears of the security forces which would find it difficult to operate without their cooperation in this hostile territory. Without actions on the security forces their arrogance and terror would increase ten-fold and they would be able to raid villages at random terrorizing the people even more. With the continued harassment of the security forces by the Maoists and the peoples militia these state forces get confined to the main roads and to their

camps. Besides, the continuous attacks have had the impact of terrifying them and breaking their morale. Over the last month there has been a virtual exodus of CPM cadres from their Party, after the most notorious among them, were killed by the people and their forces. The media in West Bengal is reporting daily such actions and is expressing its surprise at this step-up of Maoist activities, in spite of the presence of such a large force of state and central police, including the highly sophisticated CoBRA forces. As we go to the press the Hindustan Times (August 4th) reported: Maoists killed two GPC members in Bhelpari. The GPC is an organisation against Maoists set up by the police and CPM. These killings came within 24 hours of the killing of CPM leader Nirmal Mahato in Lalgarh and GPC leader Kailapa Singh in Bhelpari. Prior to this, about 15 senior local leaders of the CPM had been killed in this region. Also, many others have been attacked and have fled the area. Yet another example is the report in the July 24th issue of the Hindusthan Times: 30-40 armed Maoists ransacked and burnt the house of Gour Mahato, a CPM zonal committee member. Mahato was a former zillaparishad member and a senior leader of the CPM. The house was only 2 kms from the Salboni PS and about 5 kms away from the police camp. The Maoists have also called on all the CPM cadre to resign from that Party and the PSBJSC tried many of the notorious CPM goons in peoples courts. As the Hindusthan Times of July 23 rd reported: The PSBJSC summoned local CPM leaders and cadres who left the Party over the last two days, to a peoples court in order to give a chance to them to publicly apologize to the villagers for their misdeeds. Even on 22nd about 50 such leaders, who had announced, by
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distributing leaflets and sticking posters, their decision to quit the CPM, were called to a peoples court, at Kalsidanga village, within 5 to 6 kms of Salboni and Lalgarh police stations. They were made to hold their ears and keep standing before the full gaze of over 1,000 gathering. They were told to narrate the wrongs they had done against the people and the malpractices they had committed. They were also made to promise that they would compensate the villagers for the deprivation they had suffered because of the CPM leaders and activists corrupt practices and antipeople acts in the past 32 years. .An exodus of CPM leaders and activists has been reported from several other places also. In Do-moheni, Salboni, Mulapara, Gopalpur, Gohamidanga, Manikpara, Dharampur and Belpahari, they have publicly declared their decision to quit, by putting up posters. Earlier on July 21st the Dainik Statesman reported that CPM followers are steadily rejecting the CPM. On July 21st 30 CPM members of three branches under Mednipur Southern Block left the Party raising the question as to how in this area of poor people could a huge office is built costing Rs.20 lakhs. Also it was reported that a large number of CPM leaders and activists in Lalgarh, Dharampur and Manikpara have put up hand written posters announcing their dissociation from the Party. On Aug.2nd the Anand Bazar Patrika reported that Maoist posters appeared in Jhargram town with the demand for the resignation of 13 Left Councilors creating panic in the CPM ranks. With the growing support to the Maoists in the region, together with that of the mass organization, the PSBJSC, not only is the CPM losing ground in the area but also the numerous factions of the Jharkhandi parties are fast losing their adivasi base. Leaders of seven Jharkhandi parties, like Jharkhand Mukti Morcha,
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Jharkhand Disham Party, Jharkhand Party (Aditya), Jharkhand Party (Naren), Jharkhand Janamukti Morcha, Jharkahnd Mukti Dal and the Hul Jharkhand Kranti Dal, sat in a meeting at a lodge in Jhargham on Aug.1st . They have decided to form coordination (samanway) munch to save their existence. With the growing mass influence of the Peoples Committee against Police Atrocities in Lalgarh and the Peoples Committee of Adivasis and Mulbasis in parts of Purulia district (Balarmpur, Baghmundi, Burrabazar and Bandowan), in the last nine months, these parties could not conduct a single meeting. The same situation exists in Sarenga and Ranibandh of Bankura district The traditional organization of the adivasis, the Jakat Majhi Marhwa Association, comprising the ruling adivasis elements and vehemently opposed to the movement, have also got totally isolated. Backed by the CPM they took out a big rally in the first week of December 2008 (See article by B.Prasant in Peoples Democracy Dec 14, 08) where they called on the masses to not even give water to the Maoists. They also praised the youth for clearing all road blocks set up by the Maoists. Appeals by the Maoists to these elements to mend their ways had little effect. Having developed as power brokers of the establishment they realized the growing mass movement would put an end to their power and privileges. It was only when one of their top leaders was killed that they fell silent. The Maoists have been having continuous battles with the police, and the PSBJSC has been continuously and successfully mobilizing the people and once again setting up road blocks. Landmine explosions and ambushes by the forces of the PLGA have created panic within the police forces. In addition the Maoists have even arrested a few policemen. On June 23rd

itself they captured ASI Dipak Pramanik, and after telling him of the aims of the movement released him unharmed the next day. He said he was treated well and even given dinner. On July 30 th two more ASIs disappeared as they were carrying water to the camp. A massive hunt was launched and in the process serious skirmishes took place between the police and Maoists in the southern part of the Jhitka forests, an area where the Maoists have only recently spread. Till today they have not been traced. In early August the PLGA ambushed a patrolling party at Belhpari. The SP of the region said the gun-battle went on for three hours. (The Hindu). Hardly a day passes without some resistance from the Maoists to the police/paramilitary and the armed goons of the CPM. Together with this there is continued mass resistance by the PSBJSC, in the form of armed processions (with traditional arms), demonstrations, roadblocks, student hunger strikes, etc The resistance by the peoples forces have put the security forces on the defensive and resulted in dissent amongst them. They are only looking to the day when they can leave. Panic-stricken Security Forces on the Defensive On July 23 rd the Statesman reported that not a single Maoist has been apprehended since the militarystyle operation began on Jun.18th. It added, however the joint forces have been successful in preventing newspersons from filing reports on the torture of adivasis. They have however arrested over 50 villagers and created havoc in the villages. But, till today, they have not dared to venture into the forests, patrolling only on the main roads and near the camps. Immediately after the initial attack of the security forces on Jun.18th, the adivasis melted into the forests. Over 70,000 people fled to the forests from 300 hamlets only to regroup and
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continue the struggle in a new way. At the time of the first phase many an intellectual came out criticizing the Maoist making out as though it was they who provoked the police and that they now faced defeat. The Maoist leader, Com Bikas replied to the media, guerrilla warfare has its own tactics, and just because they could set up some camps it does not mean that they have won. The fight has not finished and the security forces will suffer heavily in the future. The words have proved prophetic with the security forces in total disarray. The Times of India of July 23rd reported: The stress of the battle for Lalgarh is proving too much for a section of police officers posted there. Desperate to avoid a Maoist strike they are using everything from vehicles with Press stickers to ambulances to move around the forested terrain. For example the police supplied food and essential items to the Dharampur and Gohamidanga police camps in an ambulance. Some officers are using Press and other stickers like patient, LIC, BSNL, etc and remove the police tag from the vehicle. They are even changing the number plates to avoid identification. The police stop patrolling after 3 pm. One constable said we have no training in automatic weapons but seniors are forcing us to carry SLRs and tear-gas guns. Some over 50years of age have been sent for duty when the order clearly states that only policemen below 40 will be sent. With every passing day the murmurs of protest are growing louder among the rank and file. This might spark off a revolt. Our superiors had told us that we would be on duty here for a maximum of two weeks, but we have already spent a month in this hostile terrain The very next day the Hinusthan Times reported: The Central forces stay in the region has already been
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extended once. A police constable said there is no proper infrastructure for us to counter the Maoists here. It is manageable as long as we are staying in school buildings but we suspect the situation will worsen once we vacate them and are lodged in temporary camps. Presently police camps are being built at Ramgarh, Belatikri, Kantapahari,Dharampur next to Lalgarh PS. They will have brick walls and tin roofs. There is scarcity of drinking water and food since the locals are not helping us. And it is not safe for us to take food in hotels Besides, it is reported that forces patrol the main roads in the day and return to their camps before dusk. It needs the Road Opening Party (ROP) to sanitize the entire route from Lalgarh to Midnapore town before any police vehicle dares to take the road. With the pressure on the security forces differences are also coming out into the open between the top officers. The Times of India of July 21 s t reported: The force posted in Lalgarh has been too dispirited and riven by factionalism to chalk out a plan . Sources said that state police senior officers are split into two camps. The DGP leads one camp and is for opening up new fronts, including in Jharkhand. The other group of senior officers is not ready. Since police cracked down in Lalgarh.the Maoists have opened up new areas to engage us at fresh frontiers. It would be suicidal to open up more fronts in the forested terrain of Behlpari and Purlia. Officers are also unhappy with the DGPs decision to put Sidhhanath Gupta (DIG CID Operations) directly in the war zone, while IG (Western Zone) was kept out of the loop of the operations within his jurisdiction area. This IG stayed put at his headquarters at Midnapore supervising the supply line for the forces. The scene got worse after Praveen Kumar, DIG Midnapore

Range, decided to leave the state and join central service. He was one of the key architects of the Lalgarh operation plan. Not only that, the West Midnapore district Left Front threatened to launch a movement against the district administration due to the worsening situation in the region (continuous attacks on CPM). It threatened to lunch a disobedience movement in front of the DMs chamber from Aug.5th if the situation did not improve. Not only this, the voices of protest to withdraw the security forces from the area are growing louder. First it was the democratic and progressive sections of the population, then it spread to the CPI (ML) Liberation and SUCI, who took a campaign against it, then some left front partners opposed it, and now even Mamata Banerjees TMC has openly called for the withdrawal of the central forces from Jangalmahal. Even local CPM leader (as reported in the Aug.8t h newspapers), Tarun Bannerjee, described the police atrocities as state sponsored terrorism and this is turning the people against the CPM government. th In fact on August 6 after nearly two months since the operations were launched, the State Home secretary, Ardhendu Sen, admitted that the operation seemed to have failed. He said despite the efforts of the combined State and Central forces, comprising the elite counter-insurgency forces like CoBRA and STRACO the area wore a look like a liberated zone. In fact the very next day the Times of India reported that the Maoists held an armed rally, addressed by Maoist leader Bikas. The report said: Attended by around 1000 villagers, the rally was held on Friday evening at Domohani, barely 2kms from Dharampur police station, where the rebels assured the people that they were completely prepared to take on the armed
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forces. He added that we have served the death penalty on people who exploited and tortured the tribals. Who started this violence? When the villagers started their movement at Sijua, Salboni and Khasjangal, who assaulted them? These are examples of peoples rage.

that of the TMC (parliamentary opposition) and even that of its own left front partners. Even recently on July 24th the media reported that in another part of Midnapore CPM killed a TMC worker and injured 4 with gun shot wounds. Another 12 TMC workers were injured. The CPM has Build Hundreds of Lalgarhs ruled West Bengal for over three decades using the mass base it has In Country The Lalgarh movement is advancing built up earlier, together with its highly in spite of the massive State/CPM organized instruments of terror. It is the onslaught. The reasons are: (i) An Maoists who have been in the forefront effective mobilization of the masses on to smash this terror regime. But with a huge scale for the war against the the lack of a democratic alternative at armed gangs and the armed state the all West Bengal level it is the forces (ii) isolation of the reactionary parliamentary opposition that is also forces in the region whether the CPM able to make temporary capital of the fascist forces or the power brokers vacuum created by the exposure and acting under the banner of some smashing of these social fascist. The Jharkhandi parties (iii) uniting all forces CPM and its top leadership should not that can be united against the main forget what happened to the Romanian enemy in this case the CPM and the and other leaders of East Europe when state(iv) punishing the most vile the social imperialist empire crumbled elements after trying them in peoples in the late 1980s. Let us all learn from courts, who act as the local informers the Lalgarh experience and build such of the State, without whom the State movements in all states of the country. PM forces will find it impossible to act (v) the ability to take on the most Continued from page 34 repressive measures of the government with a brilliant inherent rights of poor peasants and combination of militant mass actions lumads to their livelihoods and and defensive armed activities (vi) and, ancestral lands. In both combat operations initiated most important of all, capable proletarian leadership in the form of by squads and platoons of the the CPI(Maoist), combining effectively Merardo Arce Command NPA, the strategic firmness with tactical NPA did not have any causality. As flexibility, with deep integration of the army battalions and special th even the topmost leadership with the operations forces of the 10 ID-AFP go berserk in Southern Mindanao in a masses. These and many more are the fascist rampage under the aegis of lessons to be learnt from the Lalgarh Oplan Bantay Laya 2, the peoples army is ever ready to intensify tactical movement. The movement has been offensives in conjunction with an built up under the most adverse expanding and deepening mass base. conditions of a wide social fascist base (A press release issued on May 31, where defacto every CPM cadre acts 2009, by Spokesperson of the as an agent of the state, and where the Merardo Arce Command, Southern CPM, with its Hamard vahini had an Mindanao Regional Operation inbuilt killer force, armed to the teeth, Command, New Peoples Army, which was utilized to smash any Phillippines.) opposition let alone the Maoists even PM
Oct. 2009

LALGRAH & MISCONCEPTIONS


Ajay

OF SOME

MISGUIDED INTELLECTU ALS


So, we will start with the major misconceptions being presented and will particularly link it to the Lalgarh issue. Misconception 1: The spiraling violence between the state and the Maoists is getting out of control and in this battle between two violent forces the peace-loving tribals and poor are the main victims. Both sides should immediately stop (conflict resolution) their violence and allow the adivasis and others to live in peace. Answer 1: In this presentation there are two misnomers. First, the police/para-military are sought to be presented as some independent force unleashing violence only on the dictates of the government. This is not the full truth; the government and state machinery are acting only on behalf of the ruling classes i.e the powerful local semi-feudal elements, big business (both comprador and TNCs) and the imperialists, particularly the US. It is these forces that are seeking the grabbing of the land for its wealth and the exploitation of labour for it super-profits. For them the immediate interests are twofold: (i) the loot of the massive mineral wealth of the country, located mostly in areas where Maoists are operating, for which they are also seeking to desperately push through the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, and (ii) the increasing exploitation of the labour of the people, and in this period of deep economic crisis the imperialists and their lackeys want to increase their exploitation in order to cushion the impact of the crisis on their profits. They also have a long-term interest in protecting their capitalist/ imperialist system, which is particularly threatened when the movement is led by Maoists. So at the local level we see the gangs of the semi-feudal interests,

HERE are many well meaning intellectuals who are genuinely confused on the issues that the Maoist movement in general has thrown up and this has more particularly been raised by the intellectuals of West Bengal in the light of the Lalgarh mass upsurge. Some of these intellectuals are well meaning progressives, but others, claim not only to be Left, but also of the M-L camp. Here we take some arguments presented mostly from the two Bengali journals Aneek and Shramjeevi (of Santosh Rana). Here, in India, the misconceptions mostly centre around the issue of revolutionary violence. Our intellectuals actually rarely see violence in their own lives and so are, quite naturally, horrified by violence. Yet, this is surprising as India is probably one of the most violent societies in the world, with violence on a scale not probably seen even in any backward country . Of course we are here not talking of the type of butcheries unleashed by the US on a country like Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, nor its massacres (peace-time) perpetuated in countries of Latin America, Indonesia, etc. What we are talking of is everyday violence that the poor of this country have to face over and above the violence associated with acute poverty and a sub-human existence (India is on a par with countries of Sub Saharan Africa). What we are speaking of is the additional violence on women and dalits that no other society of the world face (genocide of Muslims in India is part of what they face in other parts of the world whether in Palestine, Afghanistan, Chechenya or even in west China). The continuous so-called dowry killings of women is a phenomena not seen in any other country of the world; the lynching of dalits and the inhumanity and subtle
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violence of the hierarchical caste system is a phenomena too not seen in other parts of the world. Though our intellectuals may not face this violence it is important that they are sensitized to the varied forms of oppression and exploitation that the masses face. Not just excruciating poverty, but the varied forms of humiliation, oppression and intolerable discrimination, is something that our intellectuals should feel even if they do not experience it. There is necessity to first and foremost put ones heart in the right place (i.e feel for the suffering of the masses) and then see all intellectual exercises in this framework. Democracy, violence, peace, et al are only words thrown around by one and all (including the rulers) but to what purpose. The single purpose can only be justice, humanity and equality for the vast masses of the population and then everything would be seen with in this framework. Or else we get lost in the wilderness of words. In todays world, where inhuman levels of violence are being perpetrated it is the imperialists and the reactionaries throughout the world who raise it on a big scale. It is they who are therefore on a major campaign promoting Gandhism; but for most aware intellectuals around the world it is not a major issue. What is at issue are questions of justice, equality, real democracy, etc. Besides, most of the Left know the important role that violence has played historically in bringing out change and how terribly violent the capitalist /imperialist system has been since its inception e.g. the systematic decimation of the entire local population of the Americas with the very birth of capitalism, the two World Wars, the butcheries around the world since WWII, etc. But, anyhow as it is being raised as a major issue here, it needs to be discussed once again.
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power-brokers, local mafia all handin-glove with the local police. At the broader level you have the forces of the Indian state, and internationally the imperialists are directly involved in counter-insurgency training and intelligence gathering (Mossad). Anyhow the issue is the nature of the security forces who act as the tool of the classes that run this system. They do not need to use this tool if the masses silently bear the exploitation and the increased burden they seek to put on them. It is only when their discontent beaks out into the open that they call on their instruments of violence. So, if these intellectuals desire this kind of peace it is also what the powers-that-be require to continue their rapacious loot of the wealth of the country and its people. The second misnomer is pitting the mass movement against the Maoists, as though the masses are victims not of just state violence but also of Maoist violence. Without the masses the Maoists are zero. The very purpose of the Maoists, as mentioned in their programme, is to set up a truly democratic system where the people are themselves empowered through their own organs of power. The CPI (Maoists) does not conduct the revolution on its own; it is the masses who carry out the revolution, where the leadership is provided by the proletarian Party. This is of course the ABC of Marxism, which most Leftists know but are somehow silent on. Besides, the masses have faced inhuman living conditions for centuries and these have only deteriorated in this period of LPG (globalization) and they have also seen that all the parliamentary parties (including the CPM) are nothing but power brokers for the moneybags, making fortunes in the process. They see that, unlike the parliamentary leaders, the leaders of the Maoist give up the comforts of a middle-class existence and live amongst them, share their weal and
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woe and are even willing to sacrifice (and have sacrificed) their lives for the peoples interests. As in Lalgarh, quite naturally the masses turn to them as their true leaders. The Maoists are part and parcel of the local masses and the majority of the recruits are from them. This, all are aware of. So, this attempt to draw a wedge between the masses and the Maoists and to put it as though the masses are suffering due to Maoist violence is patently false. By equating Maoist counter-violence with state violence, they act to indirectly legitimise the state violence. For the forces of reaction any assertion of the will of the masses is ground for provocation. Any attempt to touch even a rupee of their profits or wealth, is ground for provocation of these demons. So, what are these intellectuals talking about when they say Maoists are provoking the state? The democratic space to organize the masses in the Jangalmahal area cannot be achieved unless the rule of the CPM hoodlums is eliminated from the area. Of course while conducting any class struggle/war there are tactics when to advance and when to retreat, no doubt these would have been taken into consideration by the Maoists in their battles at Jangalmahal. If these intellectuals are really serious about peace, they need to say how they can get not just peace, but peace with justice. Merely appealing to the government and the parliamentary parties to take up socioeconomic issues and expect any real change is wishful-thinking. We all know where the money on these schemes mainly goes. Besides, these parties have their class interests, they are tied through numerous visible/invisible threads to these powerful classes and they must serve their interests or else they will be kicked out. The present budget, the Economic Survey, the new Bills, the massive subsidies to big business (over Rs.3 lakh crores is given as concessions to big business) and
Oct. 2009

imperialists, the spiraling expenditure on the armed forces and para-military, etc, etc, has set the course of their growth pattern; while crumbs may be thrown to the aam admi to diffuse their discontent (most of which is anyhow swallowed by power-brokers at various levels of authority Anuj Pandey style). So, where can the masses get justice and improve their inhuman existence, which, in fact, is going from bad to worse? The issue is not violence v/s nonviolence but justice v/s injustice. Bourgeois moralists say that the means cannot justify the end; we say that the goals must be clear and just i.e. improving peoples livelihood and genuinely empowering them and to achieve this, all necessary means are justified. Misconception 2: Aneek magazine and Shramjeevi both say that the Maoists are not democratic and have no sense of democracy. Aneek says they have alienated all the other political forces in the area (like the Majhi Marwha and Jharkhandi parties) and are not even tolerating the rank and file CPM, demanding they resign. Santosh Rana in the Shramjeevi magazine raises the same question but goes even further saying two points: (i) Even if five people have a different view they must be allowed to speak otherwise it will lead to a different type of terror. And he equates this terror with CPM-style terror. (ii) Upholding the existing Panchayat system and seeking to democratize it, saying that it should be controlled by the Gram Sansad and that the demand should be raised for more economic and administrative powers, like to forest revenue, stone and sand, along with control over the police. He maintains that the Maoists are for only one Party rule and will not tolerate any others. Some have gone even to the extent of equating

the counter-violence of the masses and Maoists against the CPM armed goons and police informers with the terror of the CPM. Answer 2: We are not here to condone any acts of behavior by the Maoists that maybe undemocratic/ sectarian in dealing with other nonMaoist and genuinely progressive forces, no matter what their limitations. These may invariably exist, though they should be avoided, in building up any united front activities. Yet, class struggle at the ground level is complex and not as linear as the intellectuals expect it to go. Yet, in the Maoist appeals to the intellectuals or even in the Open Letter to Santosh Rana the approach is definitely democratic and patient (not impetuous as it often can be). Even when it is clear that Santosh Rana was aligning with dangerous, counter-revolutionary forces the tone was explanatory and asking that he come out of his errors. Having said this, let us take the issue of democracy as this word has been much vulgarized by not only the imperialists and their henchmen but also the NGOs who oppose communist party organizational norms in the name of democracy. So let us explain the issue. We shall first look at the term first from the political angle and then from the organizational angle. First, to take the issue of democracy in the political sense. Here democratic forces mean all antiimperialist, anti-feudal forces. So, any democratic front must include all such forces and not just those following the Partys view-point. This is the ideal; but, at the ground reality the ideal rarely exists. What exists is, at the one end you get the revolutionary forces and at the other the reactionary forces, while in between there may be various shades of progressive forces, which have to be assessed, from time to time, on their attitude towards the ongoing anti-imperialist, anti-feudal class struggle. One allies with all those who
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overall play a positive attitude in the class struggle at any given time. But, as the class struggle intensifies, the line of demarcation becomes sharper between the real democrats and those vacillating; so, often at such times, many forces that were progressive in the earlier phase of the class struggle, desert the movement at a later phase; some may become neutral, others may even begin to oppose it. Generally, as Mao said, one has to isolate and expose the die-hards and try and win over the rest to an anti-imperialist, antifeudal front. Now what are the forces that the Aneek and Shramjivi expect unity with? First, they call for unity with the BJMM, the traditional organization of adivasis in the area. These are led by the traditional leaders of the adivasis, who have been oppressors of their own people, and in this period of globalization have become stooges of the rulers. Except for the fortnight or so in Nov.2008 when the movement against police atrocities began, they have stood in vehement opposition to the movement and as agents of the CPM (clear from the article in Peoples Democracy, official organ of the CPM, dated Dec.14, 2008 by Prasant). This was also clear in their conscious role in hounding the Maoists, opposing the mass movement and acting as tools of the police/CPM, clearing the roadblocks put up by the masses. Next, is the large number of Jharkhandi groups. It is not only important what they profess, but their attitude to the on-going class struggle must be assessed. In the open letter to Santosh Rana from CPI (Maoist) it was pointed out that some of those groups were acting together with the CPMs vigilante forces. As far as the others are concerned they would be assessed by their attitude and role in the ongoing class struggle. Now, let us turn to the other aspect, on the question of democracy in organizational matters. Serious
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class struggle necessitates not only democratic functioning but also a high level of discipline. The discipline should not be imposed but through selfrealization. And real democracy can only be realized if it is democratic centralism where no matter what may be our personal view we are willing to accept the decision of the majority. NGOs are vehemently opposed to democratic centralism and compare it with some sort of fascist methods. Though leaders can often abuse the powers they have (whatever the structures), what the NGOs promote is anarchism below and unquestioned authority of the leader (normally the funder) whose decisions are final. In fact in all other organizations, those who control the funds, controls the organization and all decision-making. Here too, normally there is a show of democracy, with everyone being allowed to present their views, but these are rarely considered by the final authority. So, also is the anarchism of Santosh Rana, when he says Even if five people have a different view they must be allowed to speak otherwise it will lead to a different type of terror. And he equates this terror with CPM-style terror. Very true they must be allowed to speak, but how must these five acts according to their own wishes, or that of the majority? This is not clear, but he goes to the extent of calling this, a form of terror. What in fact he is demanding is nothing but bourgeois individualism and anarchic functioning and any form of disciple is being equated with terror. What a communist opposes and despises is the vulgar and crude individualism promoted in this bourgeois society (which has been taken to extreme levels in this globalization period); what we promote is the development of the individuality of all comrades, which can best be realized in a cooperative atmosphere where comrades assist and help each other.

Aneek asks whether the Maoists can give a democratic character to the movement; and in the five questions to the Maoists at the end it says the pressure tactics on all other political forces proves that the Maoists lack the sense of democracy. The essence of democracy in the sphere of organization, would be here on how and to what extent we are able to mobilize the oppressed masses and raise them to levels of leadership. For the bulk of the masses deprived of all humanity and rights for decades the essence of democracy starts with their self-respect and the assertion of their rights not cowed down by the dictates of any leader or authority (except that of the collective). This assertion of the downtrodden, which is the essence of democracy, comes with their education, awareness, realization of their own abilities and rights, a comradely atmosphere in the mass organization and the Party, a democratic relationship between the rank-and-file and the leadership, etc, etc. Such will be the main aspect of democracy in the organizational sphere. Over and above this, one must be patient with those forces who have a positive approach to the ongoing class struggle, but have different views from that of the Maoists. But for Aneek to make the latter the central point of the very movement appears to be misguided. Of course, Santosh Rana has come a long way from the revolutionary programme. In the Shramjeevi article he talks not about changing the system but seeking to improve its functioning. He puts in bold that should be it remembered that none other than the elected bodies, based on universal franchise can take over the political authority . So, here he talks of democratizing and strengthening the existing panchayat system. And he has presented many concrete proposals for this. Rana must realize that all organs of the state, no matter which,
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must necessarily serve the class interests of that state. With such a constitutionalist approach it is no wonder that Rana has come out with all fury against the Maoists whose agenda is not strengthening these organs of ruling class authority (the panchayats too get dominated by the semi-feudal type authority witnessed in society and that is further strengthened by their links to the government and their schemes/ contracts) but smashing it and replacing it with the power of the peasant committee slowly developing into the Revolutionary Peoples Committees. Santosh Rana has to re-think where he stands vis--vis the revolutionary programme for genuine democratic change. Misconception 3: The Maoists have hijacked a beautiful spontaneous mass movement and their role is destroying it and is counter productive. Answer 3: The reality is that with the Maoist counter-offensive the mass movement has continued and grown. All the dooms-day forecasts of the intellectuals have proved wrong. This fact needs to be recognized by them and the reasons for their wrong assessments need to be analyzed. Of course in the face of massive state terror there may be ups and downs in a movement, but in this case we have seen growth despite the onslaught. Also the forms of struggle often have to change. But here, the judicious mix of armed actions and mass mobilization (with traditional weapons) has been an excellent example on how to counter the worst forms of state terror. Though it may be true that the movement was a spontaneous outburst against state terror, the fact that the Maoists have been working in this region for over a decade cannot be ignored, and that they had no role to play in the uprising. Aneek goes as negative as to state: Before the outset of this adivasi revolt
Oct. 2009

there was no significant mass movement led by the Maoists, even after many years of work. Maoist Party had initially a peasant organization but after armed activities the peasant organization died. This pitting the armed activities against mass organizational activities has become a traditional method of opposing the intensification of the class struggle. The reality is that any peacefully struggle, even a small trade union struggle, is faced with onslaught of goons of the malik and then the police. Anyone who has worked among the masses knows this. Due to the inability to face this violence of the state and non-state forces, we find, of late, all mass mobilization even of the legal trade union type, failing and the masses going into passivity. It is only when the masses and their leadership are equipped to crush the goons (may be of the factory owner, the semi-feudal landed elements, the government or any party) and then the police, that the class struggle can sustain and victories be achieved. It is only then that the masses will get confidence in their organized strength. So, to counter pose the two is not only absurd it displays a deep ignorance of the ground reality of our country, expecting some democratic rights, like say in Europe. Particularly, since the past decade, it has been very clear the state is not tolerating any mass mobilization, let alone those led by the Maoists except those that are consciously manipulated to let off peoples anger. Can Aneek and others who also talk in the same vain, give even one recent example of a peaceful mass mobilization which was effective and gave the desired results? And with each passing day, with the deepening of the crisis, such peaceful forms of struggle are going to get more and more irrelevant. Whether it is the displacement issue, the attacks on labour, the issues of the peasantry, the land struggles of the landless and poor peasants, the issues for water, the issue

of wages, the issue of permanency, the issues against caste oppression and dalit lynching, etc, etc except for maybe some exception, where have there been any successful peaceful agitation on any of these burning issues of the masses!!! Why has the offense of capital not been beaten back? The so-called democratic space is tolerated so long as the movements are no threat like, standard processions at Jantar Mantar, rallies to parliament (within limits), etc, etc. Such struggles may be necessary but, more important, is the ability to intensify the class struggle to beat back the offensive on the masses. It must have practical results not just be nominal or ceremonial. Such mass mobilization is only useful if it is a process of gaining strength which will culminate in more affective battles not if they are repeated in a routine way year-in-andyear-out. This reality is obvious to any who are sensitive to the plight of the poor and oppressed and do not have their visions blinkered by revisionist (supposedly Marxist) theory. In its desperation to draw a dichotomy between the mass movement and the Maoist Party, Aneek seeks to turn even the reality on its head by ignoring the impact of the Maoists would have had through hard and consistent work in the area for over a decade, in the face of the worst repression by the armed gangs of the CPM and the police. To deny this reality on the imagined basis that the Maoists had no success, till now, is nave, as it is by only painstaking work on a step-bystep basis that quantitative growth lead to a qualitative leap in the movement. After all, one does not get a tree to bloom and yield fruits overnight after planting the seed. The initial sapling needs much care only then it will grow into a sturdy tree. Lalgarh, no doubt, seems to be developing into a sturdy tree as its roots appear deeply imbedded in the hearts of the masses.
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Misconception 4: In attacking and killing the CPM the Maoists have become like the CPM themselves. They should allow democratic space for all to function. Answer 4: The CPM has ruled West Bengal, particularly its rural areas, with a brutality not witnessed by even many other ruling class parties. Its Harmad vahini has a notoriety of not only raping and killing at random but terrorizing any who dare even question (let alone oppose) the CPM power brokers at all levels. They have used this brutality not only against the Maoists, not only against the parliamentary opposition, but also against its very own left partners. Its social fascist fangs were clearly displayed at Singur and Nandigram. And in these decades of CPM rule, while the Party bosses and their henchmen have made fortunes, the lives of the people continue to be as miserable as ever. The CPM offices in the localities have become the fountain head of its terror regime. It is nothing but white terror at its worst. Without smashing this authority any real work in rural West Bengal is unthinkable. The semi-feudal type authority of these new elite when smashed only will facilitate the growth of a real democratic authority of the peasants and landless labourers of rural West Bengal. Besides, at the local level the CPM and its main cadre force act as the eyes and ears of the state giving information to the police on Maoist activities. In this scenario what is to be done? How does one build an effective mass movement? The smallest form of independent organization will be smashed in the bud by these goons. They do not permit any democratic space. So, if some democratic space is to be made, this is inconceivable without armed actions on its goon force (armed to the teeth) and their CPM bosses. It is only by smashing this authority that the new democratic
Oct. 2009

authority of the peasant organization can come into being and grow. In rural India the semi-feudal type autocratic atmosphere allows for little democratic space. This democratic space can only be created by destroying this authority, not by adjusting with it in the name of democracy. In Jangalmahal too it was seen that with the entry of the security forces the CPM bosses sought to make a come back. In this area the CPM leadership is the main enemy of the people. The mass anger too is directed at them. But the CPM bosses and their armed gangs function through their cadre base in the region. If this social-fascist authority is to be uprooted thoroughly the kingpins have to be crushed and the poisonous weeds they sprout in the area uprooted. Only then the place will become safe for the people to mobilize and operate in. It is indeed creditable that Maoists and the people could continue their campaign against this terror force even after the entry of the huge security forces. The CPM looters were dreaming of a come-back. Aneek and Rana say these attacks on the CPM are no different as to what the CPM was doing; this too they say is nothing but terror. Unfortunately these two do not see the class content of the actions of the two forces one being that of the ruling elite, the other of the oppressed masses who try them in peoples courts. Without a class approach it is natural to fall into the above trap. Besides, many of these M-L forces have been hob-knobbing with the CPM and taking favours; this tends to blunt their class stand. True, as they say, both are creating terror the CPM white terror, the Maoists red terror. The Maoists terror and panic is only in the minds of the CPM and state forces; for the people they can for the first time in decades get a breath of freedom . True peace can be achieved only if the security forces withdraw and the people establish their
Continued on page 28

SUPPORT

THE

HEROIC STRUGGLE OF ADIVASIS IN LALGARH, INDIA


demonstrations of adivasis trying to obstruct their progress. They also were dogged by landmines and a series of ambushes by the Maoist forces. It took them 2 1/2 days to reach the Lalgarh police station. When the police and paramilitaries reached Lalgarh, they moved to teach the adivasis a lesson. CPM cadre dressed in police uniforms pointed out homes of PCPA members. Police broke into their houses and dragged villagers outside to be beaten. Children were not spared; they broke the leg of a seven year old boy. Hundreds of women were stripped naked and humiliated: a woman was raped with a rifle butt by a policeman. The paramilitaries forced local youths to act as human shields, searching for hidden mines and explosives. Faced with this brutality, tens of thousands of adivasis were forced to flee their villages. Hundreds of houses have been burnt down and several thousand families were herded out of their villages. More than 20, 000 people are placed now in make shift camps looked after by the opposition parties. Even during this military operation, the Maoists operating in the area held mass meetings of villagers only a few kilometers from the state forces. According to the Bengali daily Sanbad Pratidin of June 27, the U.S. and Israel have provided technical assistance that has allowed a recently launched Indian satellite to locate Maoist guerilla units in the dense forests. The West Bengal government also clamped down on outside observers. A team of intellectuals from Kolkata, included the film maker Aparna Sen that visited Lalgarh and called for a cease fire was arrested and charged with subversion. A week later, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) was banned throughout India, and Gour Chakravarthy, the
Oct. 2009

VER the past week, thousands of Indian police and paramilitary forces have descended on Lalgarh, West Bengal to crush the just struggle of the adivasis (tribal people). Progressive people around the world must raise our voices to help break the reign of military terror that has been unleashed upon the people. In November 2008, the adivasis of Lalgarh rose up against decades of abuse by the police and the new landlords, the local kingpins of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), commonly known as CPM. This is the same communist party that tried to take away peasants land in Nandigram and Singur, only to be beaten back and exposed by determined struggle. In recent years, hundreds of adivasis in the Lalgarh area have been imprisoned on false charges of having ties with the Maoist insurgency. They formed the Peoples Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), which has extended its influence to hundreds of villages in the Lalgarh area. In recent months, Maoist activists who have been working in the area for years initiated development projects for drinking water, irrigation, roads and health centers that have involved over 200,000 people. After CPM cadre fired on a demonstration led by the PCPA in early June, thousands of adivasis burned down CPM offices and police camps, symbols of unbridled power and oppression. As the movement spread to new areas, the West Bengal Left Front government, led by the CPM, asked the central government to send in its armed forces to retake the area. As several thousand West Bengal police and central paramilitaries moved towards Lalgarh, they were met with dug up roads, felled trees and massed
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open spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist) in West Bengal, was arrested in Kolkata while giving an interview inside the studio of a TV channel in Kolkata. The adivasis of Lalgarh need the support of progressive and freedomloving people around the world. The brutality of the West Bengal state and the Indian government must be brought into the light of day. The International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS), (a worldwide alliance of democratic, antiimperialist mass organizations) supports the heroic and just struggle of the people of Jangal Mahal -Lalgarh and condemns the reactionary and anti-people ruling classes in India that hand in glove with the imperialist powers are hell bent on use of brute force to crush the peoples resistance. We urge all ILPS members, and other progressive, democratic and antiimperialist people everywhere, to urgently build support for the struggling people of Lalgarh. Statements of support, public meetings, and demonstrations at Indian embassies and consulates around the world can put pressure on the state to withdraw its occupying forces, and can let the struggling people of Lalgarh know that they have friends far beyond West Bengal. Down with the fascist aggression of the CPM, the WB state and Central Indian state against people of India! Down with the imperialism, Zionism and all other reaction! Support the Heroic Struggle of Adivasis in Lalgarh, India! Arman Riazi, General Secretary International League of Peoples Struggle(ILPS) 28/06/09

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STAND WITH
HE purpose of the current much-trumpeted operation by the paramilitary forces in Lalgarh region of West Midnapore (West Bengal) is to suppress the democratic upsurge of the tribals and to send out a warning to all oppressed sections against any attempt to similarly challenge the State authority and establish peoples authority. It is also part of the ruling classes systematic long-planned attack on the communist revolutionaries nationwide who are challenging the entire system of exploitation and oppression. For these reasons it is incumbent on all communist revolutionaries and revolutionary democrats to stand steadfast by the tribals of Lalgarh, oppose the States campaign of suppression, and uphold the right of the masses to rebel against the existing oppressive social, economic and political order and set up their own popular authority. Whatever the differences of tactical line among the communist revolutionaries, they stand united and with the revolutionary masses against the enemy onslaught. The sparking point for the current rebellion was the atrocities committed by the police on the ordinary tribals to exact vengeance for a CPI (Maoist) land-mine attack on the West Bengal Chief Minister. These vengeful acts by the police ignited a great store of popular wrath built up over years of autocratic, exploitative, and terroristic treatment of the tribals at the hands of the police and the CPI (M) machinery. There followed an extraordinary and inspiring democratic assertion by the tribals, drawing on their traditions of collective struggle and management of their own affairs. The tribal masses seized control of the area; blocked off entry points, gheraoed the local police station, formed the Peoples Committee Against Police Atrocities, drove the police and administration out
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THE

STRUGGLING MASSES

OF

LALGARH

of the area, and declared their democratic demands. No doubt these demands were of a limited nature (i.e., not relating to a change in production relation). Rather, these demands focused on punishment of the guilty police officers by the traditional tribal method of public humiliation, compensation to the victims of police atrocities and an end to all such police repression. More important than the individual demands was the fact that the struggle amounted to a political contest between the will of the oppressed masses and the will of the reactionary ruling classes and their State authorities. The State authorities were well aware that any real concession to even the most obviously justified demands would only further strengthen the organization, consciousness, and fighting spirit of the tribals. Moreover, the ruling CPI (M) beset by agitations and rebellions in Nandigram, Singur, and elsewhere, and facing general elections in May 2009, needed time to maneuver and re-group. Initial attempts by a private army of CPI (M) hoodlums to terrorize the tribals had proved unsuccessful. Hence the CPI (M) and the State machinery decided to play a waiting game. The tribal rebellion achieved several important political gains. It thoroughly exposed the pretensions of the CPI (M) regarding its record among the rural poor. It exposed the acute backwardness actually prevailing, the absence of even minimum welfare facilities (such as healthcare and employment generation), and the corruption of the CPI (M) party. At the same time, the upsurge showed what the tribal masses were capable of, on the basis of their selforganization and unleashed initiative. Because of its evidently mass democratic character, the tribal upsurge also awakened a sense of
Oct. 2009

identification among the broad tribal masses of the region not only in contiguous areas but even at distant places, beginning a political process among them as well. The State machinery (at the central and provincial levels) and the CPI (M) lost no time in portraying the tribals as puppets of the CPI (Maoist). The communist revolutionaries themselves are being portrayed in the State and corporate media propaganda as fearsome and sinister terrorists. In this fashion the State has for some time now been preparing the ground for a much more intense and no-holdsbarred military assault nationwide on the communist revolutionaries and the masses under their influence. However, the tribals of Lalgarh, seeing the whole-hearted manner in which the comrades of the CPI (Maoist) threw in their lot with them, and contrasting them with the ruling pseudocommunists, refused to be swayed or cowed down by the State propaganda. Rather, they have openly expressed their support for the CPI (Maoist) comrades working among them. The obstacle to the State armed forces re-entering Lalgarh was not principally military but political: the CPI (M) feared having to pay a heavy political price. Ultimately, once the elections were over, the Central and state governments, headed by the Congress and CPI (M) respectively, set aside their rivalries in order to crush the Lalgarh peoples movement. Care was taken to ensure that the Trinamool Congress which otherwise has been using various popular issues in order to hit at the rural CPI (M), remained mum throughout the cleansing operations. No doubt, a successful armed blockade altogether preventing the entry of the State forces was not possible, given the actual balance of
Continued on page 28

MAOISTS EXPAND GUERRILLA WAR WIPE


OUT MORE THAN

TO NEW

AREAS!

FORTY SECURITY PERSONNEL IN CHATTISGARH


(Based On Reports from the Media) Rajnandangaon district Supdt of Police Vinod Kumar Choubey in three attacks on July 12, at Mandanwada village near Manpur-Mohalla in Chattisgarh. It is significant to note that though the Maoists were actively working in some parts of this district from a long time, this is their first big strike in this area. The PLGA forces first gunned down two security personnel near the Madanwada camp of the Chattisgarh Special Armed Forces early on the morning of that day. On learning about the incident, the district SP Choubey rushed to the spot with a posse of security personnel, which included the CRPF, Chattisgarh Special Armed Forces and the district police force. Anticipating their arrival about 200 PLGA guerillas waited to ambush them. As soon as the police forces reached the ambush spot the guerillas triggered powerful landmine blasts fallowing it with intense firing killing Choubey and thirty others on the spot while more than a dozen others have sustained serious injuries. Four more personnel died as the guerillas ambushed another team of security men heading to Madanwada by a different route. Inspector General of Police (Durg range) Mukesh Gupta said that the security forces were outnumbered and that the Maoists had executed the attack with meticulous planning. Media reports indicate that Maoist cadres are actively working at some places bordering Kanker and Dhamtari districts and the diamond belt area of Gariband forests in Raipur district of Chattisgarh as a part of their plan to extend their areas of operation. On July 27th, that is a day before the Maoists Martyr week begins (28 July) the PLGA forces blasted a van carrying Central Reserve Police Force jawans between Giddam and Barsur villages in the Dandakaranya forests (south Bastar) of Chattisgarh killing two and injuring seven of them. The jawans were on routine patrol when their vehicle was ambushed. The PLGA guerillas blasted the vehicle and opened fire. The condition of some of the injured was stated to be critical. The landmine site is on the state highway and the blast has proved that the guerillas mined trunk roads in addition to the innumerable kutcha roads in the forests.
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S THE CENTRAL and state governments are readying their action plans to deal with the Maoists, the Maoists came out with a counter plan of expanding their guerilla war to new areas to disperse the enemy force over a sufficiently wider area. The Politburo of the CPI (Maoist) gave a call to all its PLGA forces on June 12th, asking them to carry out tactical counter-offensives keeping in mind strengths and weaknesses of the state forces. The PB while considering the states forces are superior noted that it will be difficult for the Centre to send enough forces required by each state in near future as raising of central forces would take time. The PB said; Keeping this in mind, we have to further aggravate the situation and create more difficulties for the enemy forces by expanding our guerilla war to new areas on the one hand and intensify the mass resistance in the existing areas so as to disperse the enemy forces over a sufficiently wide area. As a part of execution of this PB directive, the PLGA forces of the Maoists wiped out more than forty security personnel including

VILLAGERS VEHEMENTLY OPPOSE

THE

SETTING UP

OF A

POLICE STATION

Villager of over two dozen tribal hamlets in the Maoist dominated Kanker district in south Chattisgarh are up in arms against the state governments plan to set up a police station in the area. The villagers told the media that they, particularly their women would be safer without a police force establishing the rule of law in the area. Earlier there was a police outpost at Partapur village, about 350 km south of state capital, Raipur. But it had to be shifted to Pakhanjur in the same district, following stiff opposition from the villagers. One of the villagers explaining about their opposition said once the police station comes up, every other day we will be picked up randomly on charges of being Naxalite sympathizers. Recollecting the terror they had gone through earlier after a police-Naxalite encounter four years ago he said after the gun battle, over 300 policemen camped near the village for a month and unleashed a reign of terror on the villagers. The police top brass meanwhile is adamantly brushing off the peoples demand saying we arent here to appease the villagers, but to enhance our control in these areas. However the people are firm in their resolve not to allow the setting up of the police station. PM
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Oct. 2009

BUDGET 2009-10, PATH OF NEO-LIBERAL REFORMS AND IMPENDING DEVASTATION


Shyam

HE Central Budget 2009-10 as presented by the UPA II government through the finance minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on 6th July is a tricky verbal balm for the aam admi (common man) in perpetual distress, while a real boon for the corporates, speculators and the upper middle class. The grave consequences of the Budget proposals will be felt very soon and we should keep in mind that except implementing decisions on tax concessions, opening the doors wider for the FDIs, huge defense expenditure etc, the aam admi must be tellingly let down by tokenisms and lobbying off policy with lollypops. The Pranab Mukherjee tabled Budget proposals are ostensibly innocuous in the sense that they have been made to keep both the corporates, native and foreign, and the aam admi in good humor. This is the cruel joke and so the millionaires and billionaires have readily heaped all praise on this extraordinary Budget. An inquisitive eye must find the hypocracy to fool the aam admi and the over all neo-liberal agenda of globalization, liberalization and privatization that permeates the main frame of Budget proposals. The UPA II government has noticed the Himalayan problems Indian people are saddled with and sought to address them with its neo-liberal policy, inviting further devastation for the economy and the aam admi. Before deliberating on the 200910 Budget proposals we have to study the fundamentals of the economic policy of this government. On assumption of office, the UPA II governments path of more hectic reforms was clearly announced by the President. Fellowing in the footsteps of US President Barak Obama the UPA II government submitted an agenda for the first hundred days. It
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contained two crucial plans: neo-liberal reforms and strengthening internal defense mechanism mainly targeting Maoists in India. When the existing policy paradigm of financial and economic reforms takes all the battering internationally for the global economic crisis, the UPA government presented Economic Survey 2008-09 just four days before the presentation of Budget 2009-10, charts out the path of economic measures to be pursued by the Congress dispensation. Mukherjee in his Budget speech tactfully avoided overt stress on reforms, etc. to create an aam admi image but the Economic Survey 2008-09 is quite straightforward and blunt in approach. However, it also never forgot to mention the clichd words inclusive growth like in the Budget. The Chapter 2 of Economic Survey 2008-09 captioned Challenges, Policy Response and Medium term Prospects made no bones about reforms fiscal, financial and industrial climate related are, among others, a new target of zero fiscal deficit on a cyclically adjusted basis, revitalization of the disinvestment programme and plan to generate at least Rs25,000 crore per year. They also include passage of Banking Regulations Amendment Bill 2005, the Pension Fund Regulatory and development Authority Bill, 2005, the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2006 and the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2006. Other steps advised are raising the foreign equity share in insurance (up to 49 percent) and foreign direct investments (FDI), raising FDI in defense industries to 49 percent, lifting the remaining ban on Future Contracts (that caused rampant speculation and steep hike in food grain prices), introduction of credit default swaps, increasing the FDI limits in banks and
Oct. 2009

greater entry of foreign banks, selling old oil fields to the private sector, allowing private corporate, including foreign investment, in nuclear power and a new bankruptcy law to speed up liquidation. Among the prescriptions for the anti-people roadmap Economic Survey 2008-09, the fellowing are tangibly savage commandments that the UPA II must try to implement. *49 percent direct foreign investment in insurance and defense sectors. *Lifting of exclusive control of government over railways, coal and nuclear power sector. *Sale of 10 to 15 shares of profitmaking organizations which are not necessarily Navaratna (nine jewelsnine profit making public sector undertakings). Liquidation of lossmaking organizations. *Ensuring an intake of Rs.25, 000 crore by way of disinvestment. *Reforms in industrial laws for 1012 hours of work every day. Legalizing Hire and Fire Policy. *Withdrawal of surcharge and cess on income tax. *Lifting of subsidies on sugar and fertilizer. *Gradual lifting of subsidy on Kerosene oil. *Allowing subsidy on 6 to 8 gas cylinders per family. *Lifting of control on the prices of petrol and diesel. The above is self-explanatory about the shape of devastating policies to be executed by the Congress led UPA II government. And this government has already made it clear that strengthening internal defense by basically exterminating Maoists in India will occupy the position of significance in the neo-liberal path. The subtly crafted budgetary statement does not go into detail on the reforms measures. With a show of

populism the Budget 2009-10 fiendishly contains key policy on reforms as directed in the Economic Survey 2008-09 like oil price deregulation, rationalization and gradual reduction of fertilizer subsidy and disinvestment. This Budget also keeps open the external capital route for so-called growth. And Mukherjee had waved aside the question on reforms tactfully saying that reform is not an event but a process. Thus disinvestment is on, fiscal responsibility is to be redefined after the 13th Finance Commission submits its recommendations, oil price decontrol has been referred to an expert group, a direct transfer mechanism is being drawn up for fertilizer subsidies, more stock will be floating on the bourses and so on.

family below poverty line. For agriculture interest relief to farmers on timely repayment of loans has been declared but there is no scheme declared on crop insurance, nor on direct income support in ecologically vulnerable regions. The so-called aam admi budget clinging strictly the path of reforms only announced some paltry benefits for poor and many of them will also not be translated into reality. In the Budget token tax breaks for the middle class and senior citizens are surpassed by the sops for the corporate sector with no tax hike, removal of the fringe-benefit tax (tax on perks, etc.) and by selective tax cuts for products like set-top boxes and LCD TVs. The Budgets thrust on infrastructure, a key area of infusing funds in the system, for saving the iron and steel and cement industry from Budget Proposals With the proposed expenditure of shrinkage. The demand stimulator is more than Rs.10 trillion (Rs.10 lakh expected by way of massive thrust on crore) the UPA II government boasts projects in roads, airports, telecom and of the biggest ever budget till date. The power sectors through public-private fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP partnership worth Rs.10, 000 crore. And while the increase in minimum has been projected at 6.8 percent. The income and expenditure of the alternative tax from 10 percent to 15 government shows that basically percent could apparently irk some corporate and a rising middle class companies, they can now offset it oriented budget will push the economy against future actual taxes for a longer in to dire straits. Percentage wise while period of 10 years. In every sense, receipts of the government through the corporate sector is by and large taxes, revenues, etc. stand at 66 more than satisfied with Budget 2009percent making the government incur 10. It is projected as aam admi Budget a heavy borrowing of 34 percent. The Budget is projected as an aam admi but the uncanny irony is that the corporate sector is excessively happy for growth while containing provisions despite so much ado about agricultural of reforms. There has been an upliftment, the uplift of rural poor in allocation of Rs.39, 100 crore for the general. Industry circles have National Rural Employment Guarantee expressed collective cheers. The Scheme (NREGS), up from Rs.36, 750 Budget proposals have profusely crore. In his budget speech, the finance satisfied the hydrocarbon companies minister said that 50 percent of rural involved in exploration and pipeline women would be linked to self-help networks but the proposals have groups. However, allocation has cleverly left questions of oil retailers actually come down. It has not unanswered, particularly on the issue addressed land and forest related of petrol and diesel pricing. Thus a 7issues. Without any declared allocation year tax holiday has been announced the Budget speech boasted of to gas producers (main beneficiary, providing rice at Rs.3 per kg. to every Mukhesh Ambani).
27
Oct. 2009

The so-called aam admi Budget speech wanted to show the governments concern about agriculture. 100-day NREGRA performance (which is not for rural job guarantee for the whole year) has so far been a miserable failure. The Budget proposals revolving within the set boundaries of liberalism can never address the acute distress of the common people. Administrative Decisions will Tear the aam admi Mask In order to appease the common people, Budget proposals generally avoid mention of so many actual measures to be fellowed. Indian people have to face attacks of neoliberal reforms as prescribed by the Economic Survey 2008-09. Quite naturally, disinvestments in public sector undertakings were firmly on the agenda of the UPA government soon after the Budget announcement. For 2009-10, the government has pegged the revenue estimate from disinvestment at Rs.1, 120 crore. The immediate victims of this policy are Rail India, Technical and Economic Services Ltd, Cochin Shipyard, Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd and Sutlej Jal Vidut Nigam Ltd. The Finance Minister told on 14 June that the President, Ms Pratibha Patils address to the joint session of parliament on June 4 had clearly spelt out the policy of the government on disinvestment. The actual net borrowing through government Securities in 2008-09 was Rs.2, 21, 472 crore. And now the net market borrowing requirement for 2009-10 through dated Securities of Government works out to Rs.3, 77, 757 crore. The entire policy of debt-based economic performance, debt-financed private consumption and investment, etc. have already heavily struck Western Economies, the US in particular. The huge

borrowing plus the mounting deficit of the balance of payment and too much dependence basically on foreign institutional investment (FII) will deliver huge blows on the fragile economic structure, causing huge burdens on the common people. Most of all the spiraling prices of essential commodities despite much propaganda on zero inflation will further push crores of people the abysmal depth of poverty. Huge Defense Spending It is strange that economic critics and political parties of different hues have avoided the billion dollar question of astronomical defense spends. The Budget speech has subtly avoided the details on this score. In the Budget 2009-10 the government has announced an allocation of Rs.33, 809 crore for armed forces a 33 percent steep hike from the last years revised estimate of Rs.25, 439 crore mainly to counter Left-wing extremism in
Continued from page 24

Eastern and Central India, observes Nishit Dolabhat in The Telegraph, 7, July 09. One lakh housing units for CRPF personnel, risk allowance on a par with the army and over Rs.2, 200 crore for security around international borders summed up the UPA II governments intent at a time when joint policeparamilitary operation was on in Lalgarh in West Bengal The Budget has also set aside Rs.100 crore solely to help states fighting Maoists to raise critical infrastructure. The allocation for training CRPF personnel has gone up by 50 percent to Rs.208 crore. Not bad, this has to happen, said a former secretary of RAW, Indias external intelligence agency, commenting on the increased allocation for police forces. If February 09s interim Budget got more or less concentrated on the allocation in the name of containing more 26/11 incidents, the Budget consequences of the States operation will be intensified alienation and simmering anger among the tribal masses, which offer fertile grounds for an even more powerful organized mass revolutionary upsurge in the future. The CPRCI (ML) supports the tribals demand that the police and paramilitary forces of all varieties be withdrawn from the Lalgarh region. It express solidarity with the struggling In fact, the Lalgarh experiment has many lessons for the revolutionaries. It is important that this movement sustains and grows both in depth and extent. It is a hope once again for the people of West Bengal who were put into threeand-a-half decades of slumber by the CPM revisionist domination over the state. This had lulled the Bengali population, with its great revolutionary
Oct. 2009

2009-10 stresses on the internal security and huge allocations are earmarked for mainly fighting Maoists, particularly after the Lalgarh upsurge and the Maoist ascendancy in Chattisgarh, Orissa and several other states. Home minister P.Chida-mbarams first 100 days action plan stressed on anti-Maoist operations as a top priority of the UPA II government. The bourgeois neo-liberal economic theories like Eugene Farnas Efficient Market, Milton Friedmans view that speculation is stabilizing, etc. have now become notorious for bringing about great devastation in the capitalist centres of the West, particularly in America. But India still fellows those neo-liberal theorists and lays stress on militarization with a mix of a mild dose of Keynesisanism as found in Economic Survey2008-09 and Budget 2009-10 must lead this country to severe economic downturn in the coming days.
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forces prevailing at the time and the level of the peoples movement. The police-paramilitary operations appear to have regained control over part of the Lalgarh region, and the coming days will be full of trials and sufferings for the people of the region as the combing and cleansing operations continue. Yet the masses and the CPI (Maoist) forces are continuing their resistance. However, the ultimate
Continued from page 22

masses of Lalgarh, congratulates them for their exemplary struggle, and urges them to continue their struggle in appropriate forms through ups and downs until they attain victory as part of the revolutionary movement of the Indian people. Secretary, CC CPRCI (ML) June 23rd 2009
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own democratic organs of power in village after village, free from the terror of the CPM hoodlums. Conclusion These then are some of the main points being raised. We hope this has helped clarify some of the misconceptions of comrades on the path of the Maoists in general and that of the Lalgarh movement in particular.
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traditions, putting them into a stupor, of which the Aneek/Rana views are a continued reflection. Lalgarh has once again awakened the revolutionary hope of the people of that state, shown up the CPM revisionists for what they really are social fascists, and inspired the youth to once again take to the Naxalbari path.
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NOT

MERE

DROUGHT; COUNTRY HEADING TOWARDS


Arvind

FAMINE

EVER in the last decade has the monsoon failed so miserably as this year (till end August). If rains still do not come the situation in the countryside will become faminelike. The kharif crop will be much destroyed, and also due to the lack of moisture it will affect even the rabi crop. This will be further aggravated with the drying up of rivers and rapid depletion of ground water resources. The country, particularly its poor and middle classes, is heading for a major catastrophe. The famine-like situation is taking place in the background of the serious economic crisis where already about one crore workers in the unorganized export sector have been thrown out of their jobs. Already reports of hunger-related suicides are coming in from newer and newer areas. Hunger deaths go unreported as though it was a natural phenomenon. The media and government are consciously playing down the gravity as the affected the poorest sections of our population are not a part of their agenda. They are only concerned with the impact on the growth figures fearful that it may impact the commodity market of big business. The lives of the people are their least concern. Gravity of the Situation As of the beginning of August the cumulative rainfall of the country as a whole was is short of the normal level by as much as 25%; a deterioration from the position on July 22nd when it was 19%. The deficit in the North was as high as 39%. Till July 29th Bihar received only 253 mm of rainfall instead of an average of 496mm. In AP 20 of the 23 districts have a deficit rainfall, of which seven districts have had scanty rainfall. The nine Telengana districts were the worst affected having a 58% deficit. A drive through UP and Bihar
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indicates the level of the damage with the parched land appearing as though it was May. Most land has either not been ploughed or the standing paddy crop is wilting. The paddy areas of most parts of the country have been badly hit. Worst affected are Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, West and East UP, Uttarkhand, Manipur, Jharkhand, Assam, and parts of AP, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh (40 districts) and Tamilnadu. In the two and a half months from June 1st to Aug.12th the deficit was: J & K 28%, Himachal Pradesh 51%, Punjab 35%, Uttarkhand 42%, Haryana and Delhi 66%, West UP 68%, East UP 53%, Bihar 40%, Jharkhand 49%, East MP 39%, North East 37%, West Bengal 26%, Chattisgarh 28%, Vidarbha (Maharashtra) 34%, Marathwada (Maharashtra) 47%, Telengana (AP) 59%, Coastal AP 41%, Rayalseema (AP) 51% and Tamilnadu 23%. (Times of India Aug.15th) In the states of Assam, Manipur, Jharkhand, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh all districts are drought-hit, while in the other states most of the districts have been affected. In UP 58 of the 70 districts have been declared drought hit. On August 14 th the Indian Meteorological Department stated that in just the one week since August 5th the all-India deficiency has increased from 25% to29%. Out of the 533 meteorological districts the scanty category has swelled from 104 to 115 and those under the deficient category from 245 to 262 since Aug.5th. In other words, 22% of the districts now have a deficiency of over 60% and 50% more a shortfall between 20 and 59%. North Indian states of DelhiHaryana-West UP are the worst hit with a shortfall of 68%. There has also been a sharp increase in deficiency in Gujarat from 22% to 31%, West
Oct. 2009

Madhya Pradesh from 21 to 28% and East Madhya Pradesh from 35 to 39% in just the one week. The situation is drifting to horrendous levels and our politicians virtually fiddle while rural India burns. Politics of Drought The actual shortfall is being downplayed by the government and the media. Even by mid August they have been relatively silent. On the monsoon situation, Pawar said the government was worried but would wait for August and September to see if the situation improves. Manmohan Singh said at a conference of chief secretaries convened to discuss the response of states. I am told that no state has so far sent its memorandum seeking assistance. On August 14th (The Hindu) they officially declared only 177 districts of eight states as drought-affected, ignoring the devastation in other parts of the country. They are avoiding giving this call as that would entail the Centre giving assistance. Once a drought is declared the following steps have to be taken: (i) revenue collection for the region is suspended, (ii) Interest on loans are waived, (iii) Loan recovery is either stalled or staggered, (iv) food for work programmes are started, (v) Cash relief is distributed to farmers, and (vi) Assistance is given for crop damage, damage to animal husbandry, fodder, etc. But, the state governments are eager for funds as it is in such times of distress that the political mafia makes the maximum money siphoning away the funds meant for the poor and affected. Pawar, of the Union agricultural minister, while reaping in crores with the leap in sugar prices, is talking in riddles, unwilling to take the situation seriously. He said (Aug 13th) Kharif is the first season. Our attempt is to make good the kharif shortfall in the rabi season.

That is why we have advised states to go in for kharif contingency planning and advance rabi sowing. If rains continue to evade the country how can the rabi crop be better? He is just trying to evade the gravity of the situation. In much of rural India with deep feudal beliefs all sorts of methods, from yagnas, to sacrifices have been conducted. In many parts of the country unmarried woman were asked to plough the fields naked to appease rain gods.Even ministers have been promoting such superstitions.Lalu blamed Nitish for eating biscuits during Solar Eclipse for monsoon failure. In fact the AP Congress government utilized a combination of superstition and high-tech methods, true to the semifeudal, semi-colonial character. There, all state-sponsored pujas, yagnas, and even frog marriages have gone in vain. High-cost cloud-seeding also proved futile. The shameless Prime Minister has gone to the extent of warning the people to be ready for a further hike in food prices, which have already increased by 25% in the last year. The PM and his gang of corporate mafia are little bothered about mundane things like drought and price rise as the crores they reap is not affected. Their only concern is that it should not affect their market and, of course, one or two more stimulus packages by the government can make up for the fall in rural demand. The Prime Ministers obsession for internal security has reached such levels that his meeting with Chief Ministers on Aug.17th will now include, as a side agenda, the issue of drought. He is more interested in wielding the stick and gun on the discontented starving peasantry, instead of finding out a method to alleviate the suffering of the masses. By Aug.15th all that the government could announce is a Rs.1, 000 crore subsidy for diesel for pump sets and was considering digging more tube wells; i.e. after the crops are already
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destroyed. Anyhow, even if implemented, this will only benefit the more well-off farmers who have irrigation facilities. Meanwhile, suicides have now spread to Orissa where in the paddy belt of Sambalpur, where less than 30% of the land has been sown and the balance destroyed by a massive attack of pests. Also five starvation deaths have been reported from Bihar one from Nalanda district and the rest from Jehanabad district. All were from the poorest class and oppressed castes that did not get rations despite BPL and Antoday Yojna cards. The government has claimed the deaths were not due to hunger. India Heading for Calamity Both the food situation of the country and its ecology are going from bad to worse. Both are intrinsically related and the cause of this destruction is the rapacious greed of big business and the multinationals that are keener to loot the masses and the rich natural resources of the country. The result is total devastation all around. Even according to official data (NSSOs surveys) in the period of 1993-94 to 2004-05 the average daily intake of the rural population dropped
Oct. 2009

by 4.6% (106 kilocalories) and that of the urban population by 2.5% (51 kcals). The average daily intake of proteins by the rural population decreased from 60.2 grams between 1993-94 to 200405, while in the urban areas it remained stable at 57 grams. But, these are average figures; there is much difference between states and within the states. The present drought, growing unemployment due to the crisis, and sky-rocketing food prices will further aggravate an already declining situation of the masses. Not only this, the rape of the earth is creating a situation where permanent damage will be done to the ecology further affecting food production, water consumption and availablity of other natural resources. Forest degradation, destruction of the soil, reliance on underground water and now the huge take-over of fertile land for SEZs (by Jan.09 568 have been approved), mining projects, big dams, etc. are all destroying the ecology. In a latest report in Nature, it was said that the water table was falling at the alarming rate of one foot per year in North India, which has caused a decline of 109 cubic kilometers in the amount of groundwater beneath northern India since 2002. This is the result of the total abandonment of the

governments expenditure on irrigation projects over the decades, leaving irrigation for only those who have the money to dig bore wells a defacto privatization of irrigation. As a result, according to the World Bank, 60% of the countrys food production is dependent on ground water. There were 67 lakh tube-wells in 1994, now there are 250 lakh tube-wells a fourfold increase in the past 15 years!!! Rapid depletion of the groundwater can have disastrous results as underground aquifers can take thousands of years to re-charge. While the government is not willing to spend on irrigation, drought, and PDS and other poverty alleviation schemes in the 2007-08 budget it gifted to the big corporates as much as Rs.3 lakh crores; or Rs.700 crores per day, Rs.30 crores per hour in the form of direct tax concessions, and on excise
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for all ills of India. S.M.Krishna, Indias foreign minister, made a feeble justification of the India-US agreement in the Rajya Sabha arguing, We are looking for high-end defence equipment and they (US) are governed by their own laws. So, there is process of negotiation. The shameless Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon has even described the end use agreement as a big victory! The emboldened and enraptured US and Indian corporate houses could not help articulating their jubilation, Richard Kirkland, South Asia chief for Lockheed Martin Global said we applaud the signing of the End Use Monitoring Agreement. This signals an era of increased defence cooperation between the United States and India and we look forward to supporting the requirements of the Indian armed services in partnership with Indian Industry. So also US-India Business Council (USIBC) representing American companies doing business
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and customs duties. It does not include all sorts of subsidies, tax holidays and rate-cuts, making the real figure even bigger. With every budget the figure has been increasing and this has been going on ever since globalization in 1991. Even earlier the policy was much the same, but there was a quantum leap in this period of LPG. It is these skewed policies that make it impossible to bring about any real change in the system that could benefit the poor. All hope that the government will cut its concessions to the moneybags and alleviate the condition of the poor is mere wishful thinking. Till now it has not happened, no matter which party is in power, and will not happen in the future. With the growing crisis in the imperialist system (notwithstanding the partial and temporary recoveries due to massive stimulus packages and zero rates of in partnership with India expressed its overwhelming delight when the agreement was announced. It is natural for Indian compradors and US tycoons to express joy when India and her people are put on a razors edge. The roles of parliamentary parties like the CPI, CPM, BJP, RJD, SP, AIADMK, etc. who had either overtly or covertly endorsed the whole process towards the fructification of the nuclear deal was ridiculous vis-vis the current defence agreement. It was a bizarre scene when those parties which have generally shown no opposition against acquiring military hardware from the US paying a heavy price tried to ride a patriotic high horse in both houses of Parliament with competitive speeches, to fool a microscopic percentage of populace that evinces some tepid interest in the hullabaloo in the pigsty called the Indian Parliament. It was only the CPI (Maoist) that has been consistently opposing, not only such humiliating agreements, but also USs growing grip on the country.
Oct. 2009

interest) the loot of the people and their living conditions can only deteriorate. In the immediate sense peoples conditions can only be somewhat alleviated by: building a massive movement against the governments policies and for greater funds; conducting famine raids to release the stock from the feudal elements, hoarders, profiteers, political elements and bureaucrats; and refusing to pay the interest and loan to the saukars, moneylenders and banks. This may give some temporary relief. In the long-term the peoples condition can only improve if they smash the existing system run by the robber barons and replace it with a true democratic, peoples oriented system. Without such a basic change people can expect a veritable hell on earth in the coming PM days.

Harsh realities must be reckoned that US imperialism dominates over this region and all pacts with predatory US imperialism will only pave the way for more and more plunder of Indian resources and strictures on Indias perpetually constricted avenues of maneuverability as a semi-colony. Indian people can not put up with such contrived attempts to mortgage this country to US imperialism by the Indian rulers. The despicable pandering, lubricated politics, fulfilling the wish lists of US imperialism by India must be opposed, exposed and resisted.
Pm

OPPOSE
w

AND

RESIST

THE INDIA-US

3.0 DEFENCE AGREEMENT!


Hilary singled out the military end user agreement as the harbinger for greater defence cooperation. This will actually allow Washington to inspect sensitive Indian military installations where USsold equipment is deployed. It was already made clear in our magazine that as the US-India nuclear deal was crafted to conform to the Hyde Act of the USA, the extension of the strategic alliance, now called India-US 3.0, must follow into US law, allowing the US Department Defence officials to conduct spot-checks at military installations be it forward air bases or border areas with Pakistan or China to inspect the use of equipment procured from the US. This also implies monitoring immovable defence equipment and the ones with US components but bought from other countries like Israel. When any inspection of a USorigin equipment at any Indian air/sea/ army base which the EUMA provides for at the discretion of the US takes place, the inspection team will consist of usually of specialized technical and intelligence personnel from the Pentagon, The CIA and the US National Security Agency and, of course, the weapon system supplier. Such teams come with sophisticated simulators to test the US-origin weapon systems and equipment under simulated battle field conditions. Then there is a much larger issue. The situation discussed above is with regard to various US-origin equipment incorporated into Indian aircraft, surface ships, submarines, tanks, artillery guns and so on. What will happen when the weapon system as a whole is of US-origin? India has already had a taste of that from its experience with the old troop and helicopter- carrying vessel USS Trenton, which was imported and inducted into the Navy as INS Jalshar.

Dr. Gupta

HE rapacious US, as the o r l d s most aggressive power, and India as its faithful agent, firmed up three strategic pacts on 20th July 2009 to consolidate their military alliance, reducing further Indias maneuverability with other imperialist powers in the world. US secretary of State Ms Hilary Clinton landed in India, got the Indian government to accept more humiliating conditionalities as part of the obnoxious nuclear deal, ensured sales of billions of dollars of weapons and other nuclear devices by major American defence companies and left Indian compradors trumpeting another victory of American hegemony in the South Asian region. Ground Set Before Departure Strobe Talbott, the former deputy secretary of state under Bill Clinton, wrote in the Financial Times two days before Ms Clinton left for Mumbai pinpointing the Obama administrations high hope that Indias Congress partyled government, now it has been returned to power with an increased majority, will join the US in tightening the verification authorities of the International Atomic Agency. On July 18, on the eve of Clintons visit, The New York Times had set out a five-point agenda for the US. First, it said: It is time for India to take more responsibility internationally. It needs to do more to revive the world trade talks it helped torpedo last year. In other words, India must allow the Doha round to proceed unhindered by diluting its positions on NonAgricultural Market Access and Agricultural Safeguards. Second, as a major contributor to global warming, India is urged to join the developed countries in cutting greenhouse gas emissions, Universal targets applicable to both the developing and the developed countries
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are loaded in favor of advanced capitalist countries, the major contributors to global warming, Indias per capita emissions are 1/17th of that of the US. Third, it says, in return for US assurance of putting pressure on Pakistan to take action against terrorism, India needs to help allay Pakistans fears. This is what explains the contradictions as well as the inexplicable reference to Balochistan in the joint statement. Fourth, India is being asked to do a lot more in preventing global proliferation. In other words, we shall be forced to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Fissile material Cut-off Treaty. All these treaties are discriminatory in favor of the five Nweapon countries and impose unequal obligations on the others. This is the reason India continues to oppose these treaties. Finally, India is being urged to totally tie its foreign policy to US interests. It makes the point tellingly by stating: During the negotiations on the nuclear deal, the Bush administration managed to persuade New Delhi to grudgingly support United Nations Security Council sanctions against Irans nuclear programmes. India now needs to do more. US-Dictated Agreements What Ms. Clinton proudly called the IndiaUS 3.0 agreement will only tighten the imperialist noose around Indias neck. The details of the agreement will remain a top secret like before, only a few points being made public. The first and the most perilous point in the agreement the End Use Monitoring (EUM) compels India to agree to US inspections of military equipment bought from America. Ms
Oct. 2009

The US undertakes surprise inspections of any part of the vessel; studies all ship logs, requires US Navy officer to be on board when India makes any modifications or improvements or even repairs to keep the old vessel going. And this is for a 30-year-old helicopter and troop carrier. The end-use agreement is crucial for American tycoons such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing to bid for 12 billion dollar Indian nuclear deals making it easier for them elbow out a Russian, a French, a Swedish and a European consortium in the race. Against such a background, what kind of EUMA will the US apply should India decide to purchase one or other of the two USorigin multi-role aircraft the F-16 offered by Lockheed and F-18 offered by Boeing against the Rs.42,000 crore global tender floated by the Defence Minister for 126 such aircraft last year? The conditions will obviously be far more stringent This end-user monitoring agreement will also go a long way to serve Ratan Tata like Indian compradors Tata and other Indian compradors, which are poised to enter the Indian defence market with US collaboration. Little wonder then that Hilary Clinton met Tata and other Indian compradors during her visit to India as programmed beforehand. The high profile wealthy NRIs based in the USA will also make quick bucks from the defence agreement. No other country from which India has imported and importing hi-tech defence and other equipment be it France or other West European countries, South Africa, Israel or Russia has ever asked for an EUMA, even when India imported state-of-theart weapon systems. The other two agreements finalized on 20 th July 2009 were the Technology safeguards Agreement (TSA), obviously a type of end user agreement in the space sector, which will further the use of US components
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in Indian satellites and the Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement. Indian rulers have also complied with the US proposal to identify two nuclear parks where American supplied reactors will be installed. Indian people can not be oblivious to the fact that in 2008 US imperialism wielded tremendous pressure on India to sign the nuclear pact holding out false promise of unqualified nuclear cooperation. With tact and hegemonic real-politic US imperialism extracted temporary consent from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in November 2008 to go ahead with the nuclear deal with India, minus the NPT. And now the same USA has done a topsy-turvy and at its behest restrictive clauses have been entered on nuclear supplies in the recent NSG meet, lifting the earlier waiver. Thus India that made a strong case for the nuclear deal with the US stands to lose resoundingly the promised access to enrichment and reprocessing (ENR) items. After this slap on Indias face, the Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodhar lamentably called the move a breach of trust and contrary to the sprit of the Indo-US unclear agreement. It is a shame the even after reneging on the US announcement on full nuclear cooperation India as a client state unabashedly opens one after another door for US interests in India. The agreement came on a day the Indian Army Chief, Deepak Kapoor, reached the US on an official tour, and the US stooge Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit the US on 24th November,09 to actually appease US imperialism for further gifting away the countrys interests and for serving the geo-political game plan of US imperialism in the name of mutual cooperation. The agreement also ensures the visit of P. Chidambaram to the US presumably to apprise the masters of steps taken by India towards counterterrorism basically against the CPI (Maoist). The crucial fact is that chapter 4.5.7 of the Pentagons
Oct. 2009

Security Assistance Management Manual (SAMM) clearly mentions, among other things, that US arms is given to other countries for purpose of internal security, legitimate selfdefence, etc. In the Indian governments perception the Maoists are supposed to be Indias greatest security problem. There is not an iota of doubt that in the name of internal security the US arms dispatched to India under the strategic agreement must be profusely used against peoples war and resistance struggle led by the Maoists in India. The clause legitimate self-defence as stated in the SAMM plus the end use monitoring agreement, binds India to toe the US diktat on the legitimacy of selfdefence. Mandatory it has become for India to be at one with its US masters in judging which country is Indias enemy to be fought against for self defence! America also wants India to sign the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement and Logistics Supplies Agreement. The recently concluded Agreement has also covered entrepreneurial and commercialization activities in science and technology, agriculture, trade, etc. The US pressurized agreement, however, was peppered with high-sounding words on exchange of lessons and best practices on womens empowerment and development. A consolation indeed for the sycophant Indian rulers, plunging headlong to execute each and every demand of US imperialism! The whole agreement premised on an unequal strategic relationship goes against India and her people. All such pacts were a hush-hush affair. Even Indian Parliament had been kept in the dark. Slavish Indian Rulers This is a demeaning indictment of what is projected ad infinitum by the Indian rulers as the mainstream politics, the sole route to democratic solutions
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THE PHILIPPINE NEW PEOPLES ARMY WAGES SUCCESSFUL TACTICAL OFFENSIVES


A SQUAD OF an New Peoples Army (NPA) guerilla unit successfully carried out an ambush against four soldiers of the 11 th IB of the Philippine Army, riding on a motorcycle last May 23 in Sitio Busay, Guihulangan, Negros Oriental. Three enemy soldiers were killed while one managed to escape. The guerillas seized three firearms from the enemy. The ambushed soldiers of the 11 th IB were members of the Reengineered Special Operating Team (RSOT) platoon who are now operating in Brgy Trnidad, Guihulangan. This RSOT is one o0f the notorious units under the 11 th IB that committed grave human right violations. In order to be effective in implementing their combat mission, intelligence and CMO against the NPA and the revolutionary masses, the RSOT and other units of the Philippines Army are using several tactics to camouflage their identities. One method is to dress in civilian clothes while concealing their short firearms and hiding their long firearms in sacks. The men and women of the AFP are frequently using civilian clothes and identify themselves as NPA members. The above ambush by the guerilla unit is just one of the tactical offensives by the NPA under the Leonardo Panaligan Command to give justice to the victims of the AFP especially the peasants who were murdered, suppressed and exploited by troopers of the 11 th IB. The crimes of the 11 th IB are fresh in the memory of the people especially the murders of civilians of Brgy Panubighan in Canalon city; illegal arrest Crsanto Fat, a local peasant leader of Brgy Quintin Remo, Moise Padilla and the five poor farmers of Asaran, Buenavista, Himamylan city: grave threats and holding of the Fact Finding Mission team in Brgy Buenavista,
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Himamaylan city; threatening of the masse and destruction of their plants and animals; forcing the masses to join their Barangy Defense system; filing of trump up cases against the innocent masses in the reactionary courts, threats and harassments of the masses in their exercise of their right to assembly and freedom of expression. The 11 th IB, PA is also being used as a private army by Representative Josy Limkaichong for her exploitative and oppressive reign in the first district of Negros Oriental. The military have organized and armed the units of hired goons like Lydio Baylon in order to terrorize and kill peasants who are against Limkaichong and suspected to be members of the revolutionary movement. Rep. Josy Limkaichong is considered to be the first lady of fascism in the district. Because Central Negros is the focus of the counter-insurgency operations of the 303 Brigade, we are expecting the intensification of fascist crimes and human rights violations to be committed by the 11 th IB and other units of the Philippines Army. The NPA as the real army of the people will intensify its tactical offensive in order to defend the people, fulfill the peoples wishes fro genuine land reforms and progress and frustrate the Oplan Bantay Laya of the US-Arroyo Regime (A press release issued on May 29, 2009 by Spokesperson of the Leonardo Panaligan Command of the New Peoples Army of the Philippines.) The Philippines National police contingent in Compostela Valley Province again suffered a heavy blow after two successive New Peoples Army tactical offensives last week. Yet again, this show cases the tactical initiative held by the peoples army against the intruding forces of the GRP
Oct. 2009

armed forces and police units. On May 26, 2009, Red fighters of the NPAs Rhyme Petalcorin Command of Guerilla Front 27 ambushed an enemy column composed of troops of the PNP 1102nd Provincial Mobile Group and Special Action Force and some Cafagu elements conducting patrol operations in Barangay Mainit, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley province. Seven enemy combatants were killed in action. The 1101 st Brigade-10 t h Infantry Division of the Philippine Army ordered an aerial bombing the fallowing day, causing fear to farmers and their families. On the evening of May 29, 2009, a platoon of the 3rd Pulang Bagani Company-NPA disarmed another 1102nd Provincial Mobile Group-PNP squad assigned as security force of the APEX Mining Corporation in Barangay Nasara, Maco, Comval. Swiftly seized were five high-powered rifles consisting of four M16 armalites and one M14 rifle after being surprised by the riding NPA unit that entered the company compound. Since the target PNP Unit did not make any armed resistance, they did not have any causality. The mining firm which is owned by the London-based Crew Minerals Corporation was punished for the continuing environmental destruction its operation caused. One such devastation was the landslide in Barangay Masara last year that caused deaths and displacements in two barangays. Also, the 1102 n d PMG-PNP in Comval forms part of the Investment Defense Force (IDF) the Arroyo regimes armed component that directly protects the interests of large mining companies and big agribusiness, and violates the
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AKHIL BHARAT NEPALI EKTA MANCH, CENTRAL COMMITTEE


Shri. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India Subject: Forceful evacuation of 2000 Nepali families in Dang district by Indian Security Forces.
Sir, We wish to bring to your kind notice about the shocking and horrifying incident that happened a few days back in Dang, a mid-west district of Nepal situated across Nepal- India border. As many as two thousands families of Nepali citizens were forcefully evacuated from their homes and property by the Indian security forces known as S.S.B. The entire population was brutally harassed and terrorized by the security forces from India forcing them to leave their ancestral home and property. In a series of barbarian acts, some of the young girls in the locality were abducted by the forces and civil armed goons. The territory evidently belongs to Nepal is obvious from the fact that Nepali peoples were settled in that part of Nepal since long time. Furthermore, there are cases of destruction and burning of houses, abduction, sexual exploitations and disappearances of Nepalese daughters by Indian security forces known as SSB in twenty two border points including Koilabas, Patauli, Siria, Sukauli, Gurung Bhaisahi, Rajpur, Sunpathri, Kalyani, Khangra, Baruwa and Dog Mara of Dang district. Additionally, the farmland of locals has been forcefully captured and grains and property looted. Similarly, in Bara, SSB has been found being involved in dislocation of border pillars and seizure of Nepali land and helping the Indian nationals to use it in places like Jitkaiya, Wodki, Fuwaria and Basantapur. It is also widely known fact that thousand of hectares of Nepali territory has already been encroached by the Indian side from time to time. The encroachment of Nepali territory by India that measures seven hundred fifty thousand and fifty eight Ropanis of land (75,358) in Darchula district, far-western Nepal, ( Kuti, Nabhi, Gunji, Namidang, Tulsi Neurang of Kalapani area, in particular ) has so far continued since 1962. Similarly, we have been facing the pain of thousands of hectors of land being seized in Susta of Nawalparasi for long, Besides;encroachment in Thori of Chitwan is also fresh in our mind. There are other more such cases of encroachment which have continuously damaged Nepals self-respect and national sovereignty. Further, the pains of encroachment in districts like Kanchanpur, Kailali, Bardia, Banke, Kapilvastu, Nawalparasi, Chitwan, Bara, Rautahat, Saptri, Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar and Taplejung is still fresh in the mind of Nepali people. We wonder if India could tolerate any such transgression of its land by Pakistan, Burma, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Thailand and China? There are also reports of thousands of Nepali people being displaced due to encroachment of Nepali territory Beating, rape, looting, capture of land etc by Indian side is common in these areas. This has been an act of encroachment and violation of Nepals sovereignty.The painful episode of encroachment of Nepali territory in Dang or Bara for that matter is not an isolated incident in our view. It is a continuation of Indian expansionist policy. We strongly protest and condemn the act of Indian government and, at the same time, earnestly request your good office to stop such interventions immediately. We also appeal to the Indian government to take instant action on the points mentioned below: 1. Stop the atrocities of Indian security forces in Dang, Bara and other places. 2. Replace the displaced pillars in the original spots across Nepal India border, 3. Facilitate the Rehabilitation of the displaced Nepali people, 4. Take action against those involved in beating, looting, abduction and rape. 5. Provide compensations to the victims of Dang, Bara and other places. 6.Remove the Indian security forces from Nepali territory like Kalapani, Susta, Maheshpur, Manebhanjyang etc. Thanking you, Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Manch New Delhi

Date: June 7, 2009 {The Indian people strongly condemn the Indian expansionist policy on Nepal and its direct intervention in its internal affairs. The SSB must immediately stop the atrocities and withdraw its illegal incursion into Nepal. The Indian government must compensate the affected families and those guilty of crimes should be tried like ordinary criminals Editor}
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Oct. 2009

Regd. with the RNI No.: KER ENG/2002/2051

Postal Regn. No. KL/EKM/614/2007-09

MANIPUR BURNS AGAINST FAKE


HE entire Manipur came onto the streets against the fake encounter killing of a youth in broad daylight in the heart of the city. In a photo presentation in the Tehelka (Aug.8 2009) clear evidence was presented of the fake encounter killing of Chongkham Sanjit (27) by the security force, barely 500 metres from the assembly. Sanjit was a former member of the Peoples Liberation Army who had retired on health grounds. The photos show Sanjit being hustled away by the commandos and dragged into a pharmacy near by. A few minutes later, Commandos drag the dead body out of the pharmacy. Sanjits body is thrown into a truck within full view of the public, in a bid to terrorize them. Not only that, nearby to Sanjits killing a youth did escape from police frisking. The police chased the youth and opened fire, killing an innocent bystander, the pregnant Rabina Devi and injuring five others. The youth escaped but the police said that it was Sanjit. The Tehelka photos expose the lie. As the Tehelka report says: For years, decades even, security forces in Manipur have faced allegations of human rights violations and extrajudicial murders committed under cover of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). In 2000, Irom Sharmilla, stirred by the gunning down of 10 civilians, including an 18-year-old National Child Bravery Award winner, by the Assam Rifles, started a hunger strike that lasts to this day in protest against the AFSPA. In July 2004 the nation was rocked by the protests of a group of Manipuri women who marched to an Assam Rifles base in Imphal, stripped naked and raised a searing banner: Indian Army Rape Us. They were protesting the rape, torture, and murder, a fortnight
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ENCOUNTER

earlier, of Thangjam Manorma, 32, who was picked up from her home by the Assam Rifles. With this agitation the government changed its strategy pushing the army to the background and bringing forth the ruthless MPC (Manipur Police Commandos). Set up in 1979 as the Quick Striking Force, it has now achieved notoriety across the state. Extra-judicial killings and fake encounters have become common with the MPC. In 2008 there were 27 recorded cases of torture and killing attributed to the MPC. .Sanjeet was indeed a former PLA cadre. He was arrested in 2000 but freed in 2006, he retired on health grounds. In 2007,though, he was again detained under NSA and was only released a year later. Since then, he had been staying with his family at his home at Khurai Kongpal Sajor Leikai and had been working as an attendant in a private hospitalManipur is routinely roiled by such devastating

narratives.Ex-MLA 78-year old Sarat Singh Loitongbams son, Satish Singh, was killed by the armed forces. Though a devout Hindu, he refuses to perform his sons last rites until his name is cleared of wrongdoing. Like Satish a 39 year old Grade IV employee at the Imphal Bench of the Guwahati High Court, a man who was chatting over tea with women at a hotel, when he was dragged off by men in plainclothes, to be shot in an encounter. There is 24 year-old Elangbam Johnson Singh, a student and part-time salesman, picked up by the MPC while out with a friend and killed in an encounter; his corpse at the morgue bearing signs of torture. Life in Manipur, as one observer put it, is like a lottery. You are alive because you are lucky Manipur burned for two days on August 3 rd and 4 th against the encounter killing. The Times of India
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